Andy Paul | Sell Without Selling Out

Many salespeople rely on assumptions about salespeople - think the cringe-inducing car salesman from movies. But while there’s truth in its origins, that description is no longer true to the modern salesperson. And while the modern salesperson embraces technology to achieve more, they often fall short. The takeaway? We aren’t getting better at selling. So how can we improve? In today’s episode of The Sales Evangelist, Donald brings on sales teacher, author, and consultant Andy Paul to discuss his strategy for revitalized selling.

While there are commonalities, there is more than one way to sell well.

• The push to sales conformity is really for management, not the seller. Because management wants something predictable. However, the real world is more complicated. 
• You learn, take those learnings and apply them to life. And you become the sum of your experience and knowledge. We all end up doing things differently, even if they lead to the same result.
• Despite all the tools and technological advancements that benefit us, we aren’t getting better at selling. 
• We have ready access to a world of information, so it should make for a better and more efficient buying experience. However, our win rates are dropping.
• His book was a way of acknowledging the common sales behaviors, stopping, and doing only what works.

The problem starts with educating sellers on what their job is.

• When asked “what’s your job?” The answer comes back “to persuade someone to buy my product.”
• In reality, your job is to listen to the prospective buyer’s challenges and help them find resources to overcome those problems.
• Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
• The Catalyst by Jonah Berger - Human beings have a resistance to being persuaded.
• Instead of persuasion, think about it from an influence perspective. Persuasion is coercive, while influence is affecting the actions of others without force. It’s a change in mindset.

Four Pillars of Changing Sales

• Connection - Some people conflate a relationship with a friendship. While you don’t need to be friends with your buyers, you make connections in every interaction you have with them. Credibility and trust promote the relationship that makes a buyer choose to invest their time and energy into you. The seller is the first line of differentiation to the buyer. It costs you nothing to build a level of trust, but it does make a difference.
• Curiosity - We understand the world through curiosity and asking questions. The currently accepted sales process has a tiny time fr discovery. But in reality, this process should happen in every conversation with the prospect or buyer. To be interesting to someone else, you first need to be interested in them.
• Understanding - Our job is to listen to the most important thing to the buyer. What’s the context? A salesperson’s time to understand the buyer is a process that should never stop. Fully understand the buyer to determine how you can help them overcome challenges.
• Generosity - Humans are wired to give and collectively support one another. It triggers reciprocity, and the purpose of your generosity is to achieve what is important for both parties.

Value exists only in the eyes of the buyer. The point you should achieve in sales is to help make a decision after an interaction. Were they closer to making a decision at the end of a call? If not, why did you have the meeting? 

We don’t have a lot of control over our lives. But the baseline choices we make as sellers can help achieve what’s most important to them, which is all the difference you might need to make a sale. 

Andy’s Manifesto - Sign it (especially as a sales leader)

Go to his website andypaul.com, Amazon, or anyplace books are sold to check out