Selling Ice Cubes to Eskimos?

It's not all it's cracked up to be.

Sales Improvement Resources

We use an exercise in our sales development workshops to help our participants discover some myths about what makes a great sales person.  We examine our feelings as buyers toward the sales people we experience.  As our participants share their opinions and experiences, we build two lists. You might try this yourself. 

The Ideal

Which attributes for the ideal sales person did you value in the exercise above? Traits that I typically hear are: 

• good listener  • understands my needs  • caring  

• knowledgeable  • doesn't try to sell me something I don't want 

• helps me make the right decision.  • integrity

What do we call a sales person that exhibits all of these traits? "Rare!" said one of my participants. These rare professionals expose the myth of superiority for the make a sale at all costs and always be closing approaches.  

The Dark Side

You've heard the age-old acclamation: He can sell ice cubes to Eskimos! The exercise above helps to expose the myth about the long-term value of a win-lose approach. Given a choice, is this the kind of person you choose to do business with?  Frequently, we have no choice. In the absence of a rare professional, the most persistent or convenient ice cube salesperson prevails, makes quota, gets a raise and reinforces the validity of this approach.  

"How much software do you want to buy?" 

Fear of exposure to an unstoppable pitchman is a common phobia as evidenced by a recent software TV commercial. It portrays a frightened prospect attempting to flee an aggressive software salesman. The innocent victim, after failing in his attempts to break through and jump out his office window, climbs into the drop ceiling to hide. A cardboard cutout of Mr. Unstoppable slips under the office door as he repeats his haunting question, How much software do you want to buy?  We laugh. We've all been that victim.

As buyers, we've felt the terror. Yet somehow as sellers, we adopt some of the same traits we've identified from the sales person from hell.

Why is The Ideal Salesperson so rare?  

Lets' look at what we have traditionally valued when hiring sales people: Aggressive, slick presenter, smooth talker, constant closer, money motivated, quota seeker, good debater are a few.  We model and emulate these behaviors.  When they succeed, habits are reinforced.  We overlook that persistence is driving success more than the approach. 

Quota Caveat

Was I suggesting that sales quotas should be avoided? As a purveyor of measurable goal achievement, that would be hypocritical and perhaps un-capitalistic. Don't label me a communist just yet! I merely caution sales managers to ask: 

• Are our short term metrics and/or tactics hindering our ability to develop a base of delighted customers over the long term?  

• If so, is there a smarter, more congruent approach?  

• How can we be more professional and persistent?

• Should we first improve selling skills and behaviors prior to setting aggressive quotas to avoid burning our bridges with future customers?

The Golden Rule of Sales

Yes, a repelling approach can occasionally succeed with enough persistence. But are you selling hard? Or selling smart?  What happens with your ice cube customers when they realize they could have had hot cocoa?  How many remorseful buyers ever return?  We know there is a more effective way. Isn't it the way we, ourselves, would like to be treated?  

Have you applied the golden rule to your selling?   

What happens when you break it? 

Tom Lemanski is the president of Vista Development of Kildeer, IL. He is a facilitator of strategic business planning and the organizational and personal development of positive leadership behaviors in executives, managers and sales professionals.

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