The Secret Question

Here’s a question every salesperson should answer:

What important truth do you know to be true, but very few of the customers you call on would agree with you on?

Your answer to this question tells you whether you’ve identified a unique opportunity that others don’t see. That’s your differentiator. The root of the question, from Peter Theil, will help you create your own unique space in a very competitive world.

If you’re selling dumb equipment, have you figured out how to make it smart?  Do the people you call on get how smart equates to future higher revenues, future lower cost structure, or future competitive differentiation?

Business Models are Shifting

And they are shifting at a rapid pace. Yes, people at mid-levels are primarily concerned about their jobs and covering their you-know-what’s. So that is a conversation about pain. That won’t change, and it will help you continue to sell products.

But, if that’s all your doing, you’re not doing your job.

You and your company are a frog in a frying pan, heading out of business. You just don’t know it yet.

What’s Keeping Them Awake At Night…Three Years From Now?

I’ll bet the unique opportunity revolves around getting access at higher levels. Gaining access beyond your mid-level relationships. Those conversations aren’t about what’s keeping them awake at night, nor about what’s getting them excited and out of bed every morning. Instead, you need to tell them what’s GOING TO BE KEEPING THEM AWAKE THREE YEARS FROM NOW.

Because they don’t know.

It’s the important truth you know to be true – that if they don’t change today, they’ll get disrupted right out of business tomorrow.

Be bold. They may disagree, but they’ll listen and they’ll respect you. You might not make a transformative sale today, but you’ll get invited back in.