Perception Is Reality

“Perception IS Reality”. You’ve heard of that before. Let’s take a closer and consider this a little below the surface.

What is perception? The definition may vary depending on which dictionary you choose, but essentially it goes something like this: “the result of an observation, a mental image.” In interviews with Top sales performers, a common practice is to periodically refocus and put themselves in their prospects shoes and evaluate how they are perceived. Truth be told, their perception of us is their reality of us.

Most professionals want to be perceived as trustworthy, competent, intelligent, strategic, innovative, sharp, capable, responsive, savvy, and up to speed on what’s happening in their business. Most type “A” people think highly of themselves and they don’t have inferiority complexes. However it can be revealing to really understand how we are seen through the eyes of others rather than assume. We know what happens when we do that.

(Now if you have arrived and you feel you absolutely cannot improve in any way, then you might as well stop reading now.)

So how much can we control how we are perceived? I mean seriously, can we control what other people think of us? The answer is – Yes. But how can we do that? Well, here are a few ways that we can get an understanding or how we are though of and work our way to get the reality where we want it.

First, understand how we are perceived. Before we can get things where we want them we need a starting point, a gauge as to how we are perceived right now. A simple way to find out is to go on sales calls with your boss, colleague, or even ask a prospect directly. You will have to ask specific questions about how they perceived your presentation.

Another key is to quiz them. This will tell you if they paid attention or not which relates back to whether or not you were able to keep their attention. A good manager should be able to help get an objective opinion as well. As painful as it may be get, good objective feedback and in the long run it will pay huge dividends for you.

Second, we must envision the person we want to be and align our thoughts and actions to support our vision. Modeling the behaviors of a top performer is an excellent way to build the image of the professional we want to become. And I don’t mean to imitate their sense of humor, personality, or how they dress. All of those are superficial and will lead to becoming someone we are not. Modeling means that we imitate their work ethic, morals, discipline, and how they prepare for a sales call or presentation. If you model the behaviors and beliefs of a successful individual, you too will be successful.

Third, we put the work into crafting our message, sharpen our skills, and improve incrementally in small areas. This will lead to big results. Oh, one other thing, if we just do this for a short period of time, we will fall back into the same old rut and we will not be performing at the level that we truly desire.

There is a balance however, and that is that not ever person on earth will like us and we can certainly go overboard on being concerned with how people perceive us. But it is important to regularly evaluate how we are performing, monitor how other perceive us and adjust ourselves accordingly so we are always in a position to put our best foot forward and present ourselves, our company and our products or services in the most favorable light.

Best wishes and remember to “Light the Passion”

Selling against an Incumbent

You probably know who your competitors are. What their weaknesses are, what their strengths are; and how your product or service differs from theirs. In addition, you may be privy to how they sell against your product or service, know the representative, and how they will react in the sales process.

Inexperienced professionals will harp on features of their solution, advantages over the competitor, and the deficiencies of an inferior product or service. I can hear the wheels spinning now.

REALITY CHECK: For one reason or another, the company chose that solution. They saw enough benefit to invest in something that they thought would be advantageous to their business. If all we do is continually compare your product to theirs, you will become a commodity rather that having competitive edge. Further, we put ourselves on the playing field of the incumbent, which rarely will lead to a win.

When we are in a competitive situation we need to keep a few things in mind.
Respect the decision: Zig Ziglar used to talk about how we never criticize a previous buying decision, because it can make the customer feel like they made a wrong choice, and insult the buyer. Right or wrong; they made a decision and we must be respectful of it no matter how much we feel the customer was misinformed at the point of that conclusion. I promise, you will go nowhere fast with this approach.

Understand: An excellent way to distinguish ourselves is to relate to the buyer and get curious as to why they made the previous decision. Get clear on the reasoning process of why they chose the competitor, and what factors led to the decision.

Avoid Temptation: Resist the urge to repudiate each feature and tell the buyer how you are superior. Quell the desire to talk but listen and let them tell you what they think about the level of service they get with the competitor, how satisfied the product or service is to them, and the impact to their company. Rather, get them talking and keep them talking – and you listen, listen, listen. You have 2 ears and one mouth, listen way more than you talk. Trust me – it works! And one more thing; IF YOU CAN, mention the name of your competitor as little as possible, or not at all if you can get away with it. The more you compare, the more you will look alike.

Live above: Take the high road and refuse to get into a battle against the incumbent. Respect the previous decision and probe to find out what would improve or change about their current situation. Build your case upon what makes you superior without drawing parallels or comparisons based on features and benefits. Don’t stoop but rather elevate yourself and you product by talking about it as superior.

Be Tiger Woods: When analysts break down Tiger Woods golf swing, they rarely compare it another golfer because he is perfection the swing. Our product, service, or solution should be presented in the same fashion. We are bringing something superior to the table and we present it as such. Don’t be arrogant, but focus on what you do that makes you special, and different without comparing.

With this approach you will have better success in competitive selling situations and achieve higher closing ratios.

Good luck and “Light the Passion”

"Wish I had that one back"

Have you ever been in a discussion and you said something that you wish you could take back? If you are like me, one more than one occasion you watched the words come out of your mouth and float in the air and wish that somehow you could have the last few seconds back.

Its bad enough in a social situation to commit a minor faux pas, but in a business situation it may cost you money, reputation, credibility or worse. I read recently that on average 85% of all salespeople do not sufficiently prepare for their meetings with clients or prospects. This blows my mind because it seems so backwards. How many times have you been in a sales situation and you were not sufficiently prepared? C'mon be honest. Maybe you were prepared, but could you have done more? Should you have done more investigating within the company you are calling, different departments, influencer's, other colleagues that have called on them? Did you look at their website?

Most importantly; DID YOU PLAN THE FLOW OF THE MEETING IN DETAIL?

In doing this, we will be prepared when the meeting goes in a different direction, or we must adjust to the needs of the business as they are ever changing in todays environment.

Here is the real truth: You cannot over prepare!

The access we have with a prospect is valuable, and we work so hard to get our foot in the door. So why do we waste these precious opportunities by going in under-prepared, hurried, and wing it?

If you are like most of us your schedule is beyond full. You have internal meetings, external meetings, forecasts, email, reports to your boss, and you are always trying to pack more into your day (like putting 10 lbs. of bologna into a 5 lbs. bag). All to often we lose sight of the importance of the first impression we make as a sales professional. And truthfully, the more educated buyer today will sense your lack or preparation. Put yourself in their shoes. Have you ever been in a situation where a salesman you are talking with rattles off the features of his product without really understanding what is most important to you? Annoying isn't it?

THE POWER OF THE TORCH: The fix is easy and if you do this, you will not waste time in front of prospects and you will be viewed as a trusted advisor rather than just an other sales person giving a canned sales pitch. When we are not truly prepared we all go back to the crutch of that canned presentation which makes us look like a sales hack.

Do this: Spend about an hour (maybe a little more of less depending on your process) preparing every aspect of the sales call and plan your outcome. Develop what you are going to talk about and when, pre-think your questions, and even rehearse them outloud beforehand. Speak to the value your product or service brings to the buyer and talk about the benefits to them. And finally, see yourself executing perfectly. I know this sounds simple, basic, and elementary, but trust me IT WORKS!

Being a sales professional requires that we are better than our competitors by standing out and differentiating ourselves and a huge part of that is in our preparation.

I wish you the very best in life and remember to "Light your passion"