How a Trip Back 50 Years Uncovered my Secret to Sales Success

A few minutes ago I had an “aha” moment when I realized that pattern recognition is one of my unconscious secret weapons. It’s that sense when things just don’t line up, or when connections pop out of nowhere. Believe it or not, despite 40 years in the sales development space, building the gold standard in sales assessments, creating Baseline Selling, and crushing it in my own sales career, this particular “aha” moment snuck up on me like a defensive tackle coming at the quarterback from his blind side. When confronting myself over the 40 years it took to realize this, I said out loud, “Come on Dave! How can you be such a moron?” I say that to myself a lot, but I do OK for a moron.

Let me pull back the curtain and demonstrate how my brain works. On a random whim, I asked Grok (that clever AI from xAI) to dig up the top 40 songs from this week in 1972 (when I was a senior in high school). Grok delivered the chart positions, how many weeks each tune had been in the top 40, and the previous week’s rankings. I skimmed the list, and bam—patterns jumped out at me.  Note – the next five paragraphs deal with song title patterns before we pivot back to sales.

First off, there were mixed messages from two of the bands in the top 40: The Doobie Brothers were singing “Listen to the Music (my favorite song from that week),” but The Band countered with “Don’t Do It.” So, which instruction should we follow?

Then, there were some chart toppers about the weather: Chi Coltrane warned us about “Thunder and Lightning,” Seals and Crofts were feeling the “Summer Breeze,” and Albert Hammond declared that “It Never Rains in Southern California.” Speaking of California, the incorrectly named English band, America, suggested cruising down “Ventura Highway.” You can’t go wrong doing that!

There were a lot of sad and/or lonely song writers hitting it big that week! Nilsson’s “Spaceman” was isolated in the cosmos, Donny Osmond sang about being a “Lonely Boy,” Danny O’Keefe divulged that “Good Time Charlie’s Got the Blues,” and Cornelius Brothers and Sister Rose warned “Don’t Ever Be Lonely (A Poor Little Fool Like Me).” On the B side of the record (a reference to the 45 RPM vinyl records from the time), song writers were charting with their desire for companionship: The Spinners sang “I’ll Be Around,” Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes sang “If You Don’t Know Me by Now,” Sam Neely had “Loving You Just Crossed My Mind,” Lobo begged “I’d Love You to Want Me,” and cringy House Rep Al Green shook his cane and demanded “You Ought to Be With Me.” I thought it was worth noting that Donny Osmond and Michael Jackson, the youngest in their family singing groups, both kick-started their solo careers  in the early 70’s. They were not only in the top 40 on this week in 1972, but during that twelve months leading up to November, they shared the top 40 3 more times.

Politics snuck in there too with Alice Cooper rocking “Elected” right after The Delegates charted with “Convention ’72!” And talk about timely anthems: Helen Reddy’s “I Am Woman” could be the soundtrack for today’s controversial trans movement.

There was some darkness too. The Eagles saw a “Witchy Woman,” Curtis Mayfield let us know that “Freddie’s Dead,” and The Moody Blues eerily sang “Nights in White Satin.”

(If you’re interested in hearing the songs, Grok assembled a chart of the top 40 from that week with Spotify play links which I added below the article.)

There are patterns everywhere. You spot them by listening and looking for things that don’t add up, things that contradict, inconsistencies from what you’ve heard before, or fresh twists that make you pause. It’s like your brain’s built-in BS detector.

In sales, this skill is pure gold. It supercharges discovery, qualifying leads, and even helps sales managers when they are coaching salespeople, holding reps accountable or sniffing out when a prospect’s story doesn’t hold water.

Consider this example from a salesperson-prospect dialog:

Salesperson: How long have you had this problem?

Prospect: Three years.

Salesperson: Seems like a long time.

Prospect: Yeah, ever since I’ve been here.

Salesperson: How much is it costing the company by not fixing it?

Prospect: Around a quarter of a million a year.

Salesperson: Is that a lot?

Prospect: Yes!

Salesperson: Why have you waited so long to do anything about it?

Prospect: It’s just not that important.

Did you catch the contradiction? The prospect admits it’s costing $750K over three years, admits it’s a lot, but then shrugs it off as “not important.” Can both things be true? That’s the pattern recognition kicking in, the “aha” moment for you to differentiate yourself.

Gently push back by saying, “I’m confused. You said this cost $750,000 over the past three years and it’s a lot of money, but you also said it’s not that important. Since it can’t be both, which is it?”

That question? It’s the key that turns inaction into action, getting them moving, and closer to a sale.

But seller beware!  If you need to be liked, it will feel uncomfortable for you to push back because you’ll be worried about what your prospect will think of you.  Pro Tip:  It doesn’t matter what they think, as long as they ARE thinking about you!  That’s how you differentiate!  Why is differentiation important?  Because if you look at any survey from the past 12 years, asking buyers how they choose which company to buy from, the majority always say that “differentiation takes place in the field.”  In other words, the number one criteria is not your price, specifications, features, benefits, lead time, responsiveness or relationship.  While I’m not saying those things aren’t considered, I am saying that they aren’t at the top of the list.  For most buyers, the number one criteria is how you differentiate yourself!  Still uncomfortable pushing back?  Get over it!

And get this: The number one song that week? Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now.” Coincidence? There are no accidents.

Bundle pattern recognition with your listening and questioning skills to help see through the fog in sales. Trust me, it’ll change your game. What patterns have you spotted lately?

Image by Grok4

Billboard Top 40 from November 4 with Spotify Play links assembled by Grok