Why do humans/salespeople have two ears and one mouth?

Somewhere in 1986, I was visiting one of my clients in Amsterdam. I noticed an excellent-looking piece of Italian ingenuity and design on his desk: an Olivetti computer!

At the time, I was training the Dutch Olivetti sales team, so you can imagine that I was curious about his latest purchase and how happy he was to use it.

So I asked him about his experience with the machine. "I have no clue about the functionality", his answer was. To my question, "why did you purchase it" he responded: "I like the design, and it looks impressive on my desk!".

This experience of thirty-six years ago was an eye-opener for me at that moment. It triggered my curiosity about why people buy and how salespeople sell. My interest became a never-ending journey!

Lessons learned:

It's the buyer who repeatedly decides what the value of a product or service is. If the salesperson believes mentioning features and offering the best price will get them the sale, forget it. This approach might work sometimes. But, you will only succeed most of the time if you get lucky or the buyer feels sorry for you and gives you the deal. People often have intense feelings about their reasons for buying something. Uncovering these deep feelings will lead to the core of their real needs.

Another option is that the buyer discovers the value of your offering by themselves out of genuine interest and decides to make you your day. Here is where their sympathy for you will work.

Professional salespeople ask the right questions during conversations with buyers, then listen receptively to discover more about the buyer, what moves them, their pain or compelling reasons to buy, and propose the right solutions that suit them.

The story above brings me to the title of my article: the Greek philosopher Epictetus said, "we have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak".

The best salespeople know this: they listen, probe, ask tough questions, lead the conversation and then propose the right solution.

That's why we have two ears to listen better and one mouth to talk less!

If you want to know more about ways to get to the depths of buyers' needs, contact me here. If selling value is something you wish to expand on, contact me also here.

What salespeople can learn from Max Verstappen!

Max Verstappen won the Formula One world title in Abu Dhabi on December 12th 2021. He developed his successful career in racing through hard work, training and a strong desire for success. When you look at his achievements, they are impressive. Max uses the best equipment, team and sponsors. But, in the end, it’s the driver at the wheel who uses all available to him to do a tremendous job. It’s about a strong drive for success, combined with skills, attitude, team and the ability to use new developments and insights to become a champion.

For decades I have been working with business leaders, managers and salespeople to improve sales performance and increase the motivation of their teams. This experience helped me to distinguish what successful salespeople have in common with Max to succeed year after year in their job.

So, what are these similarities? I’ve picked out the most relevant for you:

Max has a strong will to win, and I believe he will do whatever it takes (ethically) to gain success. Salespeople who have these same qualities are likely to achieve better results in sales.

Highly developed skills. We need excellent skills to do the job and continuously hone them. Although Max is one of the best, he has a coach named Brad Scanes Brad Scanes who assist him in delivering the best performance. The best salespeople emphasise developing themselves to provide consistent and sustainable high performance.

Non-complacency. Max cannot be complacent! He has a formidable rival in Lewis Hamilton. And I’m sure that Lewis will do everything to regain the title. The same happens in sales: your strongest competitors will continuously try to outperform you and get your customers. Avoid complacency and stay ahead of the pack!

Max shows a considerable amount of boldness and self-confidence. These attributes, combined with his well-developed skills, help him go the extra mile. As a top-performer, you need to stay self-confident, take well-calculated risks and try new tactics and strategies. You learn when you win, and you learn when you lose.

Use of technology. Max has a massive arsenal of technology to support his drive to succeed in racing. This technology helps him to race with little chance of failure. The use of (sales) technology is becoming a tipping point in sales success—those sales professionals who implement the best available technology gain an edge over the competition. There is a terrific amount of technology out there available for salespeople; the question is: how many salespeople are ready to adapt effective and efficiency-enhancing technology to increase success. By the way, some of this technology might cost zero but will help you make the difference.

Max and his team operate like clockwork. Observe their pitstops. These pitstops are a show of Teamwork. If done slowly, they can set the driver back in time, and a well-performed stop will win time. The fastest pitstop ever took 1.82 seconds! Salespeople work in teams. They depend on departments like sales service, marketing, logistics, to name a couple. When these departments excel in their output, they help deliver what salespeople have promised. In the end, the whole organisation wins!

Conclusion: There are many similarities in the requirements to be successful in racing and selling. Passion, skills, optimism, endurance, persistence, creativity, self-discipline, and a strong desire for success play a decisive role in both situations!

And when you lose, consider this quote from a famous man: “I never lose. I either win or learn”.

Are you a business leader or sales professional who wants to know more about the sustainable development of your (sales) organisation? Contact me here to schedule a call to discuss. It will be worth your time and effort!