Aaron Burr is not exactly a likable character in Hamilton. He is however very pragmatic and achieves quite a bit for himself through his life. I was struck how some of his musings were actually very helpful to those in sales.
Talk Less. Smile More
One big misconception about salespeople is that they talk all the time and are very self centered, but this is not true of successful people in sales. One thing I have learned is important is to not only allow your prospect to do more talking, but to get them to tell you everything you can about their problems and companies.
Many sales representatives start from assuming the person you are talking to is a great fit for your product or service, but it’s a better attitude to assume they AREN’T a good fit initially and let the conversation prove if they are a fit or not. You don’t want to jump into pitching your services until you know it’s worth the effort. Which brings me to my next piece of Burr wisdom.
Wait For It
Far too often companies and sales departments rush the buying process of the prospect. There is so much pressure to hit quotas that are constantly increasing all the time that it can be very tempting to create as many deals as possible and push them as hard as you can and hope some of them close and repeat.
Here, Burr points us a different direction. Before you push to that next stage or even next question, you have to wait for the right opportunity. I used to be very uncomfortable with silence on the phone, and would fill silence if it went on for more than a few seconds. Then a client of mine told me in very colorful terms that I needed to stop talking because he liked what I was saying and just needed to think about it before he replied. Now I have gotten very comfortable with slow responses, and have even started to build hypotheses about what my prospect is thinking, which can be both fun and productive to test on the call.
The same is true in the big picture. Before you ask a prospect to take that next step to listen to your ideas, or review that proposal or sign that contract, have you earned the right to do so? Have you already proven yourself so indispensable that they couldn’t imagine not taking the next step? You need to remember that you might be going through your sales process, but the prospect is going through their buying journey. If you try to pull them through it by the collar, they will run away. You have to take your time and remember even though you are looking to hit your number, the client doesn’t care and is looking to solve their problem on their time frame.
I am the One Thing in this Life I can Control
The final piece of advice that Burr imparts is possibly the most important for the long term career survival in the field of sales. Ultimately, you can’t control what other people do. There are so many factors in the decisions and actions of others, and you are the one thing you can control. Are you doing everything right, even if the desired result isn’t occurring right at this moment?
This is a really important thing to understand as we are living through the great quarantine. There are lots of sales people that aren’t getting results right now, but the ones that will be more successful in the long term are the ones that are working to make themselves the best they can so that they have major paydays as things return to whatever new normal ultimately is. Focus on making sure you are doing the best possible things you can be doing, and the results will come.
Pretty good advice from someone who made some pretty bad decisions that you wind up hating in the show, but we can definitely benefit from his experience.