Why Salespeople Need to be More Like Ducks, Less Like Owls

This is my first day back from vacation, so the article is a purposely short.

It was a perfect day and we were walking the wharf at a nice, cozy harbor when saw some ducks on the transom of a boat and if you look at the picture above, that’s what you’ll see – ducks sunning themselves on a boat.  But if you look more closely, you’ll see a fake owl there too.  Why? It turns out that poker game in the harbor isn’t played by boaters with time to kill, it is merely a bluff to scare away the ducks! How does that seem to be working out?

There are similar fakes and bluffs in the sales world.

Some office buildings, condominium and apartment buildings place “No Solicitation” signs (fake owls) on their front doors. Some companies insist that salespeople speak only with procurement (bluff). Some procurement departments state that they will buy from the vendor with the lowest price (bluff). While ducks don’t seem to fall for the owl bluff any more than geese not falling for the fox bluff, many salespeople fall victim to the bluffs directed at them.  Could it be that they are rule followers?

The actual reasons have more to do with Need for Approval and Perceived Risk.

Salespeople who need their prospects to like them (Need for Approval) worry that if they [insert your scariest warning here] they will not get the business.  Well guess what?  If they obey the no soliciting sign they will not get the business.  If they don’t get themselves in front of decision makers they will not get the business.  If they don’t sell value and they try to win on price, they will not keep the business if they win it. They perceive a risk – that if they ignore the bluff, something bad will happen,  when in fact, the only bad thing that could happen is to surrender to the bluffs.  We know how that will end, don’t we?  “Oh yeah, we had a great opportunity with a big company and it was a huge deal. We were in it until the end but we didn’t win it.” You won’t win if you follow their fake rules so why follow the fake rules?  Those rules are in place to scare away the useless, valueless, knowledgeless, amateurs.  Is that what you want to be?  Show that you belong there, in that company, having that conversation, with the only people who can say yes – decision makers!

We also have the problem of inauthentic salespeople (fake owls).  Why can’t they be themselves?  Larry Levine calls them empty suits and he’s right. Most prospects can determine in less than one minute when a salesperson is a phony and people don’t buy from phonies.  If you are already authentic, that’s great, and if you’re not, how about injecting a huge dose of you into your conversations?