Salespeople: This Simple Yet Powerful Advice Can Help You Win More Sales

Maybe you’re relatively new to sales, or maybe you’ve been doing it for a while now but feel frustrated by your lack of progress. Here are three bits of simple yet powerful advice I give my own clients to help them be more successful at selling:

When you are in sales, you are always “on.” Your customers are judging you and making decisions about whether they want to continue to work with you and buy from you—or not. There will be times when you’ll have to make decisions about what to do if you disagree with a client or when a client is wrong. You pick your spots in some cases and your battles in others.

Here’s what I mean. When I was in the oil business, I worked with a variety of people—some had college degrees while others didn’t even have high school degrees. One of the terms that came up frequently in discussions and to make a recommendation about a product was “oil viscosity,” which was a critical factor for product recommendations.

Both engineers and maintenance personnel often mispronounced the term viscosity as VIE-cosity. I often wondered if I should correct the person who was saying in incorrectly. But, I told myself, what would I gain by pointing out that they were mispronouncing the word?  Not much, and I would have probably ended up embarrassing the person. So what did I do? I simply pronounced viscosity correctly whenever I used the word in conversation. Oftentimes the listener would then correct himself without me saying anything further. I picked my spot to not embarrass the other person; I was not going to be the officious know-it-all.

Then there was the new high-level manager at a very significant and profitable account. I was meeting him for the first time. He was an assertive guy who sat with his feet up on his desk during our entire meeting. In some cultures showing the soles of your shoes is considered very disrespectful. However, I interpreted his behavior as his need to show me how powerful he was. Humility was not part of his personality.

During the meeting he announced that my competitor told him that my product was inferior, and that this competitor’s company developed the formulation of the product that I was selling—it was absolutely false information.

I had to make a quick decision. Do I disagree with him and present the facts, or let it go as another difference of opinion? I chose to confront him with the facts. I knew based on his personality that he would take this as a personal affront. I expected the worst and he didn’t disappoint. He banged his fist on his desk. Next he started to yell, “I don’t know who is lying and who is telling the truth!” Then he stormed out of the room.

His subordinate was also in the meeting. I had worked with him prior to this new manager. I turned to the subordinate and asked, “Should I have not told him?” He said, “No, of course you had to.” When I got back to my office, I sent over the information documenting what I had told him.

What happened after that unfortunate meeting? Nothing. We met again and it was as if nothing had ever happened. This new manager was somewhat of a bully who respected people who spoke up. The lesson learned is you have to pick your battles in sales. My advice is to diplomatically stand up to all bullies.

Ignoring what people say may seem like counterintuitive advice in a column about taking advice. Why? Some people’s motives aren’t good and their advice isn’t good for you, either. What does that mean for you? You have to be able to discern whom to listen to and whom to ignore.

The filter that determines whom you should listen to includes those who are successful, those who are humble, and those who treat others with respect. The secondary filter is to pay attention to your gut and what it tells you about the advice. If your gut says ignore the advice, then you should ignore it.

Filter this advice and decide if it’s right for you. It has made others successful in sales, and I hope it brings you success, too.

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