Obama and Friends On Stage – Implications for the Sales Force

There is a lot of buzz surrounding those who took to the podium this week at the Democratic National Convention – and Barack Obama hasn’t had his turn yet.

Once again, I will not make a political statement in this article – just a sales opinion.

If the speeches by Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden were sales presentations, every one of their prospects would have bought from them. You’re not so sure?  Well a quick visit to Baseline Selling would remind us that we don’t begin presenting until we reach 3rd Base and by that point, our prospect has compelling reasons to buy (2nd Base) and is completely qualified (3rd Base).  If we’re following the process, we’re presenting to a closable prospect only.

Back to Denver. Why would those presentations close all of their prospects?

It met all of the rules for a Baseline Selling presentation:

• It was compelling
• It was needs appropriate
• Unless you earn more than $250,000, it was cost appropriate
• Even if you earn more than $250,000 you may be willing to pay more to buy their solution
• They were likable
• They engaged you
• They said what you wanted to hear and meant it
• They were authentic
• It didn’t sound scripted
• They told stories
• They were believable

Whether you are a raving Democratic fan or a staunch, anti-Obama republican, you would do well to examine the five-star speeches that were delivered on this historic week in Denver Colorado.