By Victor Antonio, BSEE, MBA
The story I’m about to tell is true. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. In this case, myself!
As a past CEO of a multi-million dollar high tech company, one of my primary concerns was to make sure the right people in our market get to see our products. One of my sales guys (we’ll call him Robert) was managing a very large wireless carrier and was having some trouble getting face time. The valuation of this company as I write this is over $1Billion; not a small company. I was putting some gentle pressure on him to get us into see the network operation director who was making a decision on a $100M plus project. Our piece of the pie would be substantially less, but nonetheless significant to our business.
After about a month of not seeing any progress, I gave Robert a call and stressed the importance to our company’s position in the market that we get in to see this large wireless carrier. He explained to me how he had tried every angle to get in to see them. He’s left half a dozen voicemails, sent several emails and even tried to use his own personal contact to see if he could get the network operations director to call back. Nothing was working.
I said to him, “Keep trying. Get creative. There’s always a way in.” I ended our phone conversation on a ‘sense of urgency’ note.
A few days later, I’m driving back from a customer premise when I get a call from Robert telling me he had some news for me. The conversation went along these lines:
Robert: “Victor, guess what?”
Victor: “What?”
Robert: I got a call from the carrier today and they want to speak with us.
Victor: “What?”
Robert: “Yes, they want to set up a conference with us tomorrow.”
Victor: “Wow! What happened?”
Robert: “Well, I got creative or desperate, I don’t know which, but I called the President of the company.”
Victor: “You did what?”
Robert: “I called the President.”
Victor: “You’re kidding.”
Robert: “Nope. I figured no one was returning my calls; what did I have to lose. The President then called the VP of Business Development who oversees the major project we’re trying to get our products spec’d in on.”
Victor: “You’re kidding.”
After confirming the time of the conference call for the next day and hanging up with Robert, I was still in shock. Here was an average account manager calling the President of one of the largest wireless companies in the U.S. What was even more mind-blowing was the fact that the President actually took action. Go figure!
Cautionary Note: This move was very risky. The President could’ve taken this wrong way and put us on the “do not answer their calls” list. Robert is a seasoned sales pro and told me he weighed carefully the consequences before making the call. In his mind, he had nothing to lose and time was running short on getting in on this project.
The greatest challenge facing many sales people today is trying to get in to see a customer. Salespeople who've been rejected many times often get dejected and give up too quickly. After a while they develop what we in the sales profession call, “Sales Call Reluctance”. The kiss of death in sales if you’re ever afflicted with this condition.
One of best lessons I’ve ever learned about selling is to never say “no” before the customer says “no”. Too many salespeople won’t make the call or set up the meeting because they already “know” the customer is going to say ‘no’. These sales types are defeated before they even start selling. Great salespeople will put their ego on the line and won’t give up on the sale until they hear the word ‘no’ from the customer’s mouth.
Robert reminded me again that great salesman (or saleswomen) never give up so easily. Successful salespeople are those who will do just about anything (ethically) to promote their products and services.
R.A.T.S.
When we lived in one of Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods, we always had rats (not mice) getting into the house. I recall on many occasions my father patching up holes behind the appliances, bathtubs and furniture where the rats had gnawed their way in. I recall my mother saying one day after one of my father's patch jobs, “Well, maybe that’ll keep them out.” My father responded, “For now, but they’ll find another way to get in. They always find a way to get in.”
So the next time you’re feeling frustrated, and are thinking about quitting because you can’t get in to see a client, I want you to say out loud, “Rats”. This will be our code for “There’s always a way in!...Keep trying.” We'll call this the "The Rodent Axiom of Tenacious Selling".
For salespeople, and much like the rat, we have to look for a way into a selling situation. Now, I realize that using a ‘rat’ analogy for selling isn’t conducive to improving the often tainted sales persona. Ha! But it is worth noting, that the rodent has been around for a long time and is regarded as one of the best survivors in the animal kingdom. Hmmm....we can learn a lot from rodents.
Victor Antonio
Copyright © 2005 by Victor Antonio G. All rights reserved. This article MAY be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, as long as the author’s name, website and email address are included as part of the article’s body. All inquiries, including information on electronic licensing, should be directed to Victor Antonio G.
