Unlike USA
Presidents ,Professional Salespeople put themselves up for election every call
not once before the presidency of a second term.
The current unedifying scenes of 'kicking the can down the
streets' of Washington in the public/ private negotiations on Capitol Hill
over president Obama’s budget is an excellent example of how business
negotiations should not emulate.
Verbal fiscal fisticuffs
such as these are a very high stakes game.
The gamble and the risk to the global economy have significance
well beyond the borders of the USA
herself.
How you argue matters is often seen as a measure of the educated person to some.
Yet Mark Twain viewed education a cauliflower as merely a
"cabbage with a college education."
A college education is a wonderful thing .
Learning to argue is a rigorous and robust way to study and
test academic notions.
However it maybe worth remembering the American nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dennis
Prager who is quoted as saying
“ One of the great mind destroyers of college education is the belief that if it's very complex, it's very profound.”
Sometimes such an education
is hugely detrimental to otherwise talented sales professionals.
How as well as when you use that education in a sales
conversation is critically important.
The customer may not be correct commercially.
They may not
be correct technically but never forget they are the customer .
They pay for
your goods, they pay for your services. They ‘buy into’ you and me
 |
| Coach and horses giving rides at the "Apple Day" at Fulham Palace , London |
When handling sales resistance such as price , bad past
experience, minor technical objection, resistance to change, ‘happy with
present supplier’ avoid the temptation to drive a coach and horses through the
client’s opinions.
When you over emphasise the large size of the holes or gaps
in their argument as you see them it can feed your competitive spirit
You may win an
argument but likely as not lose the business .
If you really need to expose weak points or
"holes" in an argument of a buyer, figuratively drive the horses and
carriage very gently through them like the pace of the video link below. Or best of all avoid them altogether
 |
| ( Click) Driving a coach and horses |
Years ago on the Children’s TV programme on the BBC called "Cracker-Jack they held a quiz where children accumulated prizes which they had
to hold onto. If they dropped a prize they were out of the game.
If they got a question wrong they were given a cabbage to
hold. Three cabbages and you were out.
Will the Republicans drop their cabbages or the President
his cauliflowers ? Their educated people on both sides of this argument but maybe some skill-full selling is needed and some prayers.
I guess we will find out this comingThursday
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