Seriously… have you gotten your own copy of Elite Sales Strategies yet?
Quick reminder: these posts are NOT a Cliff Notes version of Anthony Iannarino’s book – rather it’s my inside sales collection of what I was reading. The UpYourTeleSales twist on some ideas or how what Anthony wrote struck me in the moment I was reading.
“Part of being consultative is leveraging business acumen, situation knowledge (experience), and a recognition of what your client needs to do.” (pg 196)
The one thing I’ll take exception to in the quote from Anthony is that I don’t believe experience is the correct word. Expertise, rather is what he is talking about.
Experience (defined by Merriam-Webster) is: the fact or state of having been affected by or gained knowledge through direct observation or participation. Where Expertise is the skill of an expert – expert opinion or commentary.
Everything YOU the salesperson are, plus whatever you sell is the equation for change. Being confident you can answer the scary organizational fears that come from making ANY change (not just the stuff you’re thinking about) is what expertise is all about.
Here are the four organizational What Ifs in this chapter:
- what if it doesn’t work?
- what if it makes things worse?
- what if you don’t support us?
- what if people resist?
Add in people’s personal concerns:
- fear of loss of position / status
- fear of being blamed / failure
Until you can answer all their what ifs and address people’s fears, no change will take place.