I’ve been in sales in one form or another my entire career.
One of the most common questions successful salespeople hear is along the lines of, “What is the secret to successful selling?”
Most answers are some variation of ‘hard work’, ‘persistence’, ‘it’s a numbers game’, etc.
My response is a little different — ‘you have to ask the tough questions’.
Of course, people then ask ‘what are the tough questions’?
The answer to that is simple. A tough question is any question to which you don’t want to hear the answer.
In sales the hardest question any salesperson asks is the one to which the potential client will say “no.”
It’s what’s called a “closing question” and it can take place anytime after the first hello.
Salespeople often avoid closing questions to keep the discussion going, kidding themselves and their boss into thinking it’s a live one.
A no means having to make more cold calls to refill the pipeline whereas it’s more comfortable to avoid the no and believe they can rejuvenate a deal with additional contacts.
More subtly, salespeople (like the rest of us mortals) want to be liked.
By asking the question that will either take the deal to the next level or end it, the salesperson is risking not being liked any more, i.e., rejected, AKA, no.
Tough questions permeate not just sales, but hiring, product/software development and all parts of life.
The trick is realizing that the faster you ask them the faster you will hear ‘no’ and the faster you can move on to something more positive.
As the CEO of a startup, I’m really nothing more than the Chief Hustler.
I hustle to attract team members, capital, advisors, etc. I also hustle to ensure that we’re moving along quickly enough to be ahead of the market, though resource constraints and ambiguous choices always want to slow us down.
The ability to attract resources (team, capital, etc.) is probably the most important job that I have – most people who write about the startup CEOs job mention the visionary, cultural or managerial aspects of the job. For me it’s the constant hustling.
My hustle starts as soon as I wake up in the morning – pick up my iPhone and start reading and replying to emails at around 04:30. Then I move on to reading articles from news sources, keeping an ever vigilant eye out for potential competitors (especially ones with abundant funding or interesting technologies). There is an element of a negative flutter in the stomach whenever I come up on one of these – how will they affect the market, will they try to poach my carefully developed team, what is their technology basis, how do I find out more about them…
As a hustler, I’m basically a sales person.
I’m selling investors, potential team members and anyone who wants to listen or who can potentially affect the development of what we’re building in a positive manner. And as a hustler, there has to be a little of the “confidence man” in me – providing security where none can be had. Making people believe that the impossible is possible, not because I’m trying to cheat someone out of hard earned cash or time, but because I truly believe it myself, and with their help it will come closer to being reality. Hustling to create something out of nothing.
This hustler is very grateful for the people he’s getting the pleasure to work with to create something that is slated to be industry changing. I just got a sneak peak of the UI/UX and I’m really happy with the initial cut. Of course, it will have to be completely redone after our beta trials, but it’s so revolutionary that I’m now getting positive flutters in my belly – the kind of excitement that makes me want to shout from the roof-tops, “We’re coming!”
But I have to temper my excitement – we still have a long way to go. Months of hard work with the team, more delays and disappointments, and more insecurity about whether we’ll succeed or not. Every day, however, is a joy because of the people I have around me; my woman, my friends, my family, my team. To say “my” doesn’t clearly denote how I feel – not ownership, but privilege in being able to be part of their lives and have them in mine.
This is the essence of entrepreneurship at its best – good people, good goals, good development and good prospects. It’s a pity that it isn’t always like this. It does, however, make me appreciate the good times when they are here.
Sales people present their product as the solution to customers’ “problems/pain”.
As a candidate you should do both.
The smartest candidates recognize this and position themselves as high-value solutions that will make the manager look good to the higher-ups.
Steve Blank’s video explains how to identify and evaluate the value proposition of your product or service, but with very little tweaking you can apply it to yourself.
Candidates who focus primarily on what the company will do for them a la compensation, stock, benefits, promotions, etc., will miss many of the best opportunities, because managers see that attitude as a form of narcissism.
In other words, managers have problems and hire the best solution, i.e., candidate, to solve them.
Or to paraphrase JFK, think not what the manager/company can do for you, but what you can do for the manager/company.
“It’s all about sales. I’ve never seen an entrepreneur who wasn’t a salesman. I always feel like, with an entrepreneur, it’s not just about convincing someone to come in but it’s really about getting them to see life the way you see it through your eyes.” —Barbara Corcoran, Shark Tank
Corcoran is right, but it isn’t just entrepreneurs; it applies to everyone.
“See it through your eyes.”
Isn’t that what everyone wants?
From convincing investors to give you their money to selling yourself to a potential boss (or selling the company to a candidate), to making the case to your boss for a new piece of equipment to deciding what movie to see, it’s all sales.
Persuade, influence, blandishment, brainwash, cajole, con, conversion, enticement, exhortation, force, induce, inveigle, sweet talk, wheedle, preach, manipulate—call it what you will it’s still sales.
Folks do tend to get upset when “negative” words—manipulate, brainwash, con—are included in a discussion of sales, but then, there are people who think ‘sales’ is a negative action.
Which is ridiculous.
Without all the myriad ways we sell every day not only commerce, but religion, relationships and most of life would grind to a halt.
The actions that are termed sales or any of its synonyms aren’t good or bad; as with any tool it is how you choose to use it that defines whether it’s positive or negative.
Or, to paraphrase, sell to others how and what you would want sold to yourself.
Crucial questions for startups and small businesses, since how they are addressed can make or break the company.
Often the most important hires made when a company wants to grow are in sales.
Founders and owners often have technical, marketing or business backgrounds and many have a tendency to shrug when it comes to sales.
They see hiring salespeople as no big deal—there is an assumption that as long as they have a good track record in their previous sales position and understand the new product they can manage themselves.
If this sounds off base to you, you’re right, it’s not that simple. To use a real-life example, I had a client who thought that way.
The CEO hired “Jack” (before my time), a salesman with a fantastic record selling a parallel product to the same market.
The CEO personally taught Jack the product line and explained what the company was working to accomplish and then pretty much gave him free reign.
In the year Jack was with them he sold only two accounts, spent a good deal of his time on marketing and managed one large client; commissions totaled only $15K.
When he left he went to work in a field completely unrelated to anything he’d done before and in a market about which he knew nothing. In his first year at the new company he earned over 125K in commissions.
The difference was management.
Based on his track record both the CEO and Jack assumed that he could manage himself.
However, Jack didn’t have, and didn’t create for himself, the structure, accountability, etc., necessary to be successful.
During his exit interview he admitted that although he had no knowledge or training in marketing, he spent substantially more time than he should have because it was new and exciting.
After the CEO and I had fully analyzed what happened he concluded that the failure was 80-20, with the 80% his responsibility.
Hind sight is 20/20 and my client believes that if he had taken the time to do what was needed, instead of expecting Jack to completely manage himself, that he would still be with the company and doing a spectacular job.
The important lesson here is that “self-starter” does not mean “self-managed.” Even the best will need direction, structure, and accountability in order to perform brilliantly.
Entrepreneurs face difficulties that are hard for most people to imagine, let alone understand. You can find anonymous help and connections that do understand at 7 cups of tea.
Crises never end.
$10 really does make a difference and you’ll never miss it,
I’ve been in sales in one form or another my entire career.
How flat should an organization be?
