A Seasoned Salesman’s Strategy

“Sales is all about psychology. You have to understand your client and you do that by listening, then asking questions,” Mike multitasked as we spoke, driving into city, checking emails, and occasionally replying via Siri to demanding messages and a prospective.  Every now and again the car would go into autopilot, keeping us from rear-ending the Nisan ahead or drifting too far into the left lane.

I’d known the man in the driver’s seat since I was a little girl—I even danced on his feet at my grandmother’s 90^th birthday party. He was beginning to gray at the temples and he didn’t seem nearly so big anymore. But he was still the same old Mike, the salesman at my parents’ security integration company, ESCA.

This January, I hopped in his silver Acura and rode around Philadelphia, prospecting clients downtown, out to the city limits. I learned the most during our rides from one office complex to another, listening and asking my own questions. Mike, with 30 years sales experience in his back pocket, offered some advice from the trenches:

• Learn to read between the lines. Often, customers won’t realize precisely what they’re looking for until you listen to their pain and articulate it back to them.
• Adjust your strategy based on personality types. Sometimes you’ll encounter Type A clients who have all their ducks in a row and simply want to be bottom-lined. Others will need more small talk to feel comfortable. Sense these differences and begin to autocorrect your pitch accordingly.
• Determine your “easy” sell. People connect best with certain individuals, usually on some amorphous level. Figure out who those people are and make sure you establish relationships that turn into referrals.
• Always emphasize the overlooked value. If a client is searching for a security company, like ESCA, his primary concern is finding a suitable match for his needs. Provided you’re able to offer a competitive solution, explain how your proposal does not simply provide value on a one dimensional, strictly security level, but will better track time and attendance or help you manage your utilities. This makes a higher asking price more palatable if a client associates added value with your offer.
• Bundle. Always look for ways to bundle more into a proposal. But do it honestly—if a client truly would not benefit from an additional service, don’t make the offer.
• Don’t try to be all things to all people. Your firm, whatever you sell, should target a very specific target market. In the case of ESCA, if Mike tried to sell residential alarms, he’d be undercut seven ways to Sunday by companies like ADT. Instead, Mike and ESCA management realize they can only serve certain clientele well, and they don’t waste time burrowing into rabbit holes that won’t get them there.