People Strategies: Results will validate non-pushy sales technique

Linda Bower is a speaker, executive coach and human performance improvement consultant in Rogersville.

Dear Linda: I'm a fairly new salesperson working for a distributor of garden machinery. I'm being pushed by some of my peers and my manager to be more pushy in order to get more sales, but this doesn't suit my natural style, makes me feel uncomfortable, and I'm not convinced it works anyhow.

What information do you have about what it takes to be a real success in sales. I'm considering giving it up at the moment.

Giving Up

Dear Giving Up: The very fact that being "pushed to be more pushy" is bothering you says to me that you have the right attitude to be an excellent salesperson.

Does the question you are asking go beyond what it takes to be great in sales? Are you also asking how to deal with your employer so you can work more effectively? The latter question seems to be more about why you are considering giving up. So let me address both questions.

Every sales organization I've ever worked or consulted for has the same golden rule: "Proof before power." Your perspective about how to sell appropriately won't mean anything to your employer unless you perform first. So that's what you must do, and you must do it in your own style, not theirs.

You probably won't get fired for refusing to be pushy, you will get fired for not delivering results.

When I first started selling professionally, I was lucky to be guided by a seasoned salesperson. As I questioned company decisions, Gary told me something that has stayed with me all of these years; I think it might work for you too. He cupped his hands to block his peripheral vision and said, "Wear BS blinders!"

Gary taught me that there is no more important place to be than serving customers. As a salesperson, I had to stay above the quota pressure and the failings of my employer to accomplish financial results. For a few years I physically cupped my hands around my ears every time I heard something that would misdirect my best intentions.

Once you establish yourself as a consistently high performer without being pushy, then your peers will want to emulate you. Your manager may even become your internal advocate. Certainly your referral business will go sky high. Don't give up.

How do you perform without being pushy? One way is to become consciously competent about moving customers to action without using manipulative techniques. This entails being able to perceive and address the comfort level of your customers.

When a customer is making a buying decision, he or she tends to feel two kinds of tension. One is "relationship" tension, which usually begins high. The other is "task" tension, which usually begins low. The goal is to reduce relationship tension in order to increase task tension. Being pushy will not accomplish this goal, so wear your new blinders.

Relationship tension is natural when we interact with strangers. We want to know who we are dealing with. Customers are especially sensitive to meeting salespeople for the first time because they might get pushed. Breaking the sales stereotype alone will reduce relationship tension.

Other ways to reduce relationship tension include:

Listen to your customer. This means literally keeping your mouth shut. There is an adage that the customer should speak 80 percent of the time that you are together. Customers will be more inclined to trust your recommendation if they know they have been heard.

Demonstrate your credibility. Let the customer know why they should trust your recommendation without relying on the proverbial "trust me." Tell them stories about how your products have solved other gardeners' problems. Tell them about what you learned during product training, and so on.

By virtue of reducing relationship tension, your customers will naturally decide if they want to pursue a conversation with you. If they do, then their task tension is increasing and you are now in a position to begin helping them solve their problem with your product.

For more information on the "time-tension model" and how to become a more consultative salesperson, visit Wilson Learning Worldwide's Web site at www.wilsonlearning.com and look for, "eCSP." There is an online version of their popular program, the Counselor Sales-person, that you might find helpful. You might also want to search SBJ's Web site, www.sbj.net, for other articles on sales and consulting.

Don't give up!