Sales Autopsy
by Dan Seidman
Baaad Luck at the Farm
John Will Be Counting Sheep, In stead
of Money, in His Sleep Tonight
John writes: Suddenly, it didn’t even matter that I had to
spend another five dollars to wash my dust-covered car after
leaving this prospect’s property.
My partner and I had finished a tough series of sales calls on
a large corporate farm. The owner was taking on a complete insurance package – we
were covering everything. I was looking at almost $50,000 staring me in the, well,
bank account.
It didn’t even matter that I had to thoroughly scrape the bottom of my shoes before
soiling the carpet of my car again. A Chicago city boy like me could make good money
in the country – even with minimal selling skills.
So there we sat – the owner, with his hands folded on his desk, and his accountant,
with her hands folded atop a large leather book – the company checkbook. My partner and I beamed at each other and pulled out one last form.
“In order for us to see that you’re completely covered, we need your livestock totals,” I said. I began to call out the animal names and the owner told me the numbers
of each herd. “Beef cattle?” Two hundred and seventy. “Horses?” Sixty-five. “Pigs?”
Ninety. “Sheep?” One hundred and fifty. And then…
“E-wees?”
“Huh?” grunted the owner.
“E-wees.” I said, clearly mispronouncing the word again. “How many e-wees you
got?”
“Let me see that form,” the farmer said. “That’s ewes, you idiot! Have you ever
been on a farm? How are you supposed to help me with my business if you know
nothing about farming? You know what? Don’t even answer that – just get out – get
out of my office!”
We walked quickly to my car, not even stopping to clean our shoes, hopped in and
drove away, $50,000 poorer.
POSTMORTEM: Okay, so John was a bit short in his product-knowledge training, but let’s focus on something else. What to do you
do when you blow it on a call?
Here’s what I suggest at all the speaking and training programs I
do: Be very, very remorseful. Say something like, “Oh, lord, you must
think I’m my company’s village idiot. I’m so sorry. If you don’t want to
do business with me, I completely understand.” Don’t be surprised if
the prospect says, “Hey, that’s okay. I’ve done some dumb things too.
Let’s keep going.”
If you feel bad, you’ll make most people want to help you to not be
so hard on yourself—and you could save a sale. ■
Dan Seidman of Sales Autopsy Inc. uses his collection of 600+ selling
blunders to teach new selling strategies for sales professionals and executives. He has been speaking, training and consulting in the financial services industry for 15 years. Dan’s blend of humor and wisdom has led
him to be recognized at “One of the Top 12 Sales Coaches in America”
(Ultimate Selling Power).
Dan’s book, Sales Autopsy (Kaplan Publishing), reveals the top seven ways that
world-class sales professionals distinguish themselves from everyone else. For more information, visit www.SalesAutopsy.com.
