Sandler Rule #18 is “Don’t Paint Seagulls in Your Prospects Picture.” What this rule means is you cannot force people to see things from your perspective because they do not see it there, so do not try to. Professor Sweet illustrated this in class with the story of an art teacher who painted a seagull in their student’s beautiful painting of a beach. Afterward, the student was sad about what her teacher had done to her painting because she did not see the seagull in her painting. I sure would be upset if I was drawing something like a tyrannosaurus rex and then someone drew feathers on it which I did not want on it (because tyrannosaurus rex did not have feathers).
Some salespeople struggle with control issues likely because they have not reduced their power in their relationship with the customer. If you think a “seagull” should be in the picture, try using a series of questions to help the prospect uncover the truth for themselves, but do not strongarm the prospect. Sales is about discovering truths about a client which leads to a mutually agreed-upon set of truths.
Here are some example seagull statements to use but do not strongarm the prospect:
- You know what might be nice…
- You know what you should do…
- You may want to think about…
- Picture this: __
- What I didn’t tell you yet is that you will have the ability to __
- What if I told you…
Seagull statements are well-intentioned, but could introduce unnecessary distractions and red herrings. Just like the example of the girl’s art teacher putting a seagull in her painting, we shouldn’t force our perspective onto others, otherwise, they may feel upset, uncomfortable, or angry like when a seagull steals your lunch and takes a dump on you midair. Instead, try to see things from the customer’s perspective because it will show that you care about them and sympathize with their viewpoint, unlike seagulls who selfishly take other people’s food without question.
Also, humanity should be set on either keeping seagulls off the beaches or extinct.
BoweryJE22