Sims:<\/b>\u00a0 Andy Gole and I have been friends for quite a while now.\u00a0 I think of you\u00a0 Andy as a really hard-working guy who has incredible energy, joy in your work, and a powerful intensity in your sales philosophy.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s start with your market.\u00a0 Where do you go fishing for business yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy:<\/b>\u00a0 I target businesses with 5 to 20 salespeople. These are companies which might have hit the sales wall because market conditions changed, or their sales abilities have atrophied, and they are looking for a new way to move forward. The ownership or top management has to be open to significant change.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sims:<\/b>\u00a0 Do you do cold calling?\u00a0 Do you go door to door?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy:<\/b>\u00a0 Most leads come from referrals and an intensive lead-generation program.\u00a0 Occasionally we do cold calling.\u00a0 If we go door to door, it\u2019s to assist a client.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sims:<\/b>\u00a0 And how have you grown your business?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy:<\/b>\u00a0 Historically I plugged along for about 7 or 8 years doing the standard thing a consultant does–including seeking references and doing public seminars to generate leads<\/span><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t optimal, with boom\/bust cycles. I realized I needed a breakthrough.\u00a0 So, I started building websites, developing a marketing machine, and preparing short, impactful videos.\u00a0 I also wrote a book and started doing substantial emailings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sims:<\/b>\u00a0 When and how did you come up with the idea that salespeople are heroes?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy:<\/b>\u00a0 Well the dominant view of salespeople is that they are slimy cheats, like Willy Loman in <\/span>Death of a Salesman<\/span><\/i>–a play about a guy who hates himself and commits suicide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But I see them differently.\u00a0 I see salespeople as heroes because they open the closed mind…they move civilization forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

They persist in the face of rejection. The salesperson brings new products, new ideas to the customer which will bring the customer to a higher state of well-being.\u00a0 But the customer says \u201cNo, I\u2019m good,\u201d meaning \u201cEverything is OK.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need your help.\u00a0 I don\u2019t need your products, and I don\u2019t need you.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s pretty tough stuff to handle all day long.\u00a0 It takes a hero, a worthy champion, to handle this as a standard part of the job!<\/span><\/p>\n

The salesperson stands his or her ground. He or she says, \u201cI am surprised to hear you say that.\u00a0 Is good good enough?\u00a0 What about great?\u00a0 What about fantastic?\u00a0 What about best ever?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The customer thinks he is at the top of the mountain–at the top of his game– but the salesperson shows the customer how to reach a higher point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>Harvard Business Review<\/span><\/i> published a piece at the time of the last recession.\u00a0 It advocated this:\u00a0 in a downturn, provoke your customer.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s what we do in sales. It\u2019s not for the faint hearted.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sims:<\/b>\u00a0 What about the path of growth?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy:<\/b> The path of growth is the path of untapped opportunity.\u00a0 It\u2019s the time when you can shoot fish in a barrel.\u00a0 It is usually uncontested space–a \u201cblue ocean.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the challenges in selling is discovering the path of growth, for finding the rising water that raises all boats.\u00a0 This reflects the hunter\/explorer role of the salesperson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Strong salespeople often have to teach prospects type 3 knowledge–what they didn\u2019t realize they didn\u2019t know.\u00a0 They also need to validate the information in the face of skepticism. This is another reason salespeople are heroes.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sims:<\/b>\u00a0 What about your idea of the social vs. the business salesperson?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy:<\/b>\u00a0 Well, it\u2019s really a false alternative.\u00a0 You need both.\u00a0 Social sellers are people who want to be liked.\u00a0 And it is good to be liked because it brings comfort and intimacy into the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n

But you also have to be a business seller–a person who is not afraid of conflict or challenging the prospect\u2019s thinking.\u00a0 This is how business sellers bring the prospect to a higher level of well-being.<\/span><\/p>\n

Social sellers are often country club sellers.\u00a0 They make their money by being one of the guys.\u00a0 The problem is that country club sellers end up cutting their price to win the sale.\u00a0 Price cutting is a great way to get buyers to like you.\u00a0 But a social seller mixed in with a business seller is a sales machine that is built to last.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sims:<\/b>\u00a0 I\u2019ve often heard you say, \u201cIt\u2019s do or die.\u201d\u00a0 Isn\u2019t that a little too much rhetorical pressure?\u00a0 Can\u2019t sales be fun?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy:<\/b>\u00a0 I contrast \u201cdo or die\u201d with best efforts. When you are selling against entrenched competition, if you give it your best efforts, you will fail 100% of the time.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, do or die is a meaningful concept in the context of new business development with entrenched competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are other selling functions.\u00a0 One example is a customer service rep, which is usually more of a low-key, order-taking position. You can probably function in that position with less of a \u201cdo or die\u201d attitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, if the competition is taking a do or die approach, you shouldn\u2019t be surprised to lose the business to them, if you use best efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Imagine if the entire sales team selling was on a best efforts basis and didn\u2019t bring in enough sales.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s Friday afternoon, the owner tells everyone, \u201cNot this week. No one gets paid this week, nor for the next 4 weeks. The sales team, operating on a best efforts basis, didn\u2019t bring in enough sales.\u00a0 But, I think I can pay you in 5 weeks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Who would hang around to find out?<\/span><\/p>\n

When the news reports a bankruptcy, we shouldn\u2019t be surprised if the sales team was allowed to act on a best efforts basis.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sims<\/strong>: It takes a tough man to make tender chicken? Is that it?\u00a0 What if the sales team does not have faith or trust in the product?\u00a0 What then?<\/span><\/p>\n

Andy<\/strong>:\u00a0 They are in the wrong business. We need to select a product or service we can believe in, that can fuel the sales crusade.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"