The Sales Part of Seth Godin’s ‘How Do I Persuade You?’

Yesterday, Seth Godin posted this article, explaining how every prospect is different. I haven’t always agreed with Seth when his thought-leader-thinking has overlapped with my domain but this post is spot on.  What he doesn’t suggest is, how do you take his questions and make them work in your sales organization?

Clearly, some of his questions speak to lead generation but many of them speak to the sales call and specifically, the sales presentation and proposal.  So let me ask some questions:

Do your salespeople ask their prospects whether they are big picture types or prefer the details?

Do they ask if they want a simple email or a full blown presentation?

The key with these options is that they must ask, not assume, what will not only get the job done, but make the prospect comfortable enough and motivated enough to buy.

I agree with Bob Kriegel, author of How to Succeed in Business Without Working So Damn Hard, when he says, ONE PAGE.  You can always provide more details in response to a prospect’s questions.  But if you ALWAYS provide ALL of the details, you run the risk that your big picture prospects won’t even begin to read what you sent – too overwhelming – and they won’t always be like me, asking for a one page summary to replace the book the salesperson sent.

(c) 2008 Dave Kurlan