It's
Not the Product, It's You!
by
Mike Schoettler
"Sacred
cows make the best hamburger..."
Mark Twain
A few
weeks ago I called about a dozen sales leaders and asked, "What
is the biggest challenge facing your team today". All but two
said competition. Too many people in the market and they are all
offering low prices. The other two both said it was time management.
Which approach is more likely to improve their business result?
Many of the sales people I work with say they wish for lower prices
and better products or services. If only the technical people would
get going and give them that "new and improved" product
with a real advantage. Or maybe it is time to move their production
offshore so they can reduce costs and offer their clients a cheaper
price.
Do
your sales people sometimes wish for these things? Do you?
Normal
People
We
sometimes wish for the simple answers. The magic bullets that will
turn our results around overnight. Who among us hasn't wished for
the big lotto win that will make our problems go away. But when
we are asked, most of us understand that these big wins don't always
lead to happiness. Or in the long run, any change for the better
at all.
So
is a superior product or lower price the guarantee to success in
today's market? I don't think so.
We
can all list the superior products that failed to secure their place
in the market. Which video system was technically superior, VHS
or Beta? Know anyone with a Beta? Which computer was simple to learn,
easier to use and more reliable, the IBM PC or the Apple Mac?
Now
it takes a very loyal user to buy Apple, knowing that you won't
be compatible with most of your clients.
"Build
a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door".
Remember that one?
Back
in the 80's, I even saw that better mousetrap. I was in the packaging
business and a bright fellow worked out a way to use a piece of
cardboard and a rubber band to make a neat, clean, disposable, and
cheap mousetrap. He was going to buy millions of them. But we never
saw the second order.
Every
year thousands of new products are introduced. All with supposed
advantages that will make them sure successes. And most fail. While
thousands of companies making me-too products, with no apparent
advantages over their competitors, still make a good living.
Wishes
So
when I hear someone else wishing for these magic bullets again,
I remember an old quotation that reminds me what to do.
Drawing
on my fine command of language, I said nothing.
I just
let them daydream for a while about how wonderful it would be if
this, or that. We all enjoy dreaming sometimes. And it is still
educational to listen. If you are feeling brave and have the time,
it is useful to ask about their problems.
Specifically,
what is holding you back?
Sometimes
I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?"
Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than
one night."
Charlie Brown
What
to Do
But
after listening to their tough problems in the marketplace I ask,
"What are you going to do?" If there is a shortage of
ideas, this question can be rephrased as "What would the best
salesperson in the world do in this situation?"
Most
of us have some tasks that we do really well. We enjoy doing them.
And we will gladly make time to do them. But when there are other
important jobs that we don't enjoy, sometimes we complain we don't
have the time.
When
was the last time you said, "I just don't have the time"?
Was
it about time? Or just an excuse to avoid doing something you don't
enjoy. If you spend enough time thinking about something you don't
like, you can create a real problem for yourself
If
you have to eat a frog, you shouldn't look at it too long. If there
are several, eat the biggest first.
It
is not an accident that many salespeople do their prospecting first
thing in the morning. Done regularly it just becomes part of the
routine. And when you convert something you don't enjoy into a routine,
you avoid the worst part, thinking about it.
So
which would produce the better result'? Improving the product or
organizing your efforts?
"Winners
have simply formed the habit of doing things losers don't like to
do. "
Albert Gray
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