Once I was the world’s worst salesperson and probably made dumb selling mistakes left and right. Ultimately I made the decision not to stay in sales—probably right before getting canned—and left the field. I’d like to repeat here, though, what I say all the time. Which is that we’re all in sales, every single day, even if we don’t realize it.
That’s why I read with interest, and also got a huge chuckle out of “How I Embarrassed Myself and Botched a Big Sales Opportunity” by ultimate sales guru Jill Konrath.
Ms. Konrath relates how she completely screwed up an excellent opportunity because she went behind the CEO’s assistant, who had been given complete authority by her boss to make the decision. Actually, her action was entirely well-meaning. She was a novice salesperson who had worked hard to educate herself by reading every book and article about sales out there, including the one that told her not to waste her time talking to underlings. In this situation, that was a huge mistake, and it cost her the business.
What can you learn from Ms. Konrath’s unfortunate experience? She offers five great ideas, which I’ve put into my own language. (That means, of course, that any misinterpretations are mine.)
- Don’t go around someone without letting them know. You will most certainly annoy them, as Ms. Konrath did a hardworking, smart EA.
- Don’t assume someone doesn’t have the power to make a decision because they don’t have a flossy title.
- You need a good reason to go to the right decision maker if you’ve started at the wrong level. And that good reason must make sense to the person you started with.
- Figure out how to make someone a winner for taking you to meet their boss.
- At the outset, plan what to do if you find out that you’re not with the right person.
Whether you’re selling copiers (as Ms. Konrath was) or an interesting new idea in a slow-moving, consensus-burdened corporate bureaucracy, you need put some attention toward mastering the art of reaching the person who can say “yes.”
Perhaps my biggest sales mistake, as a young and dumb whippersnapper, was to be somewhat dismissive of a CEO’s assistant. Perhaps not enough to be out-and-out rude, but still … Years later, the memory makes me feel queasy. What about you? What have you done in sales that you wish you could undo?
Leave a Comment