Smart Vs Knowledge‏

During World War II the Germans developed tank barricades that American troops found impenetrable. At several points these obstacles virtually slowed, to a stop, our drive on the Western Front. The American command called on its foremost experts for a solution to the problem. Top officers and engineers spent weeks unsuccessfully seeking an answer.

It was a G.I., with little education, yet smart and imaginative, that was clever enough to beat the Germans at their own game. This G.I. envisioned a strong, plow-like device built on the nose of the tank. The idea was that it would demolish a barrier as the tank pushed ahead. The G.I. built a prototype of the "ramrod" and tried it out on mock targets. Satisfied with the experiment, the Army approved its use in combat. The weapon was a success and the Allies advance continued.

There is a powerful lesson here for sales professionals. Knowledge is a splendid thing but will be of limited value without imagination, an open mind and a belief that anything is possible. The sales professional needs to be smart, more than just possessing knowledge. It’s being smart and imaginative that helps find solutions to "tank barriers," the tough buyer and our skillful competition.

If you are going into a sales call with a predetermined focus and presentation, you are in trouble. You will come across as an "I" centered person who doesn’t really care. It’s smart to avoid words like "My company"; "my product"; "I can do..."; "I know how to..."; I, I , I. Shouldn’t the prospect’s interest really come first? How could the buyer possibly feel that a salesperson genuinely cares if they are doing all the talking? If the salesperson is talking, listening is impossible and the salesperson may never really know the prospect and the possibilities. It’s only when the salesperson goes to the prospect with lots of questions and an open mind that all the possibilities present themselves.

The buyer is the only one who truly knows the problem. The buyer knows what these problems have cost them and what has been unsuccessfully tried before. It is the buyer and only the buyer who determines how important the problem is, are they ready to do something about it and what they are willing to spend.

The greatest service a salesperson can do for a buyer is to ask questions that bring out the "why" behind the "what". The "what" is the buyers need or interest, but "why" do they have the interest? Why is there a need at this time? What caused the situation? What’s been tried? Why didn’t it work? And, how do they feel about it? This is how the smart salesperson obtains the truth. When the salesperson knows the answers to these questions, they truly can determine if they can solve the prospects problem and which products or services are a fit.

Be smart: sell today and educate tomorrow. Just solve the problem, satisfy the buyer, and allow them to easily buy. There will be plenty of time later to show the buyer just how much knowledge you have.