Why did you write SNAP Selling?
I believe that we’re in the midst of a fundamental shift regarding what it takes to be successful in sales. And, there are literally no sales books out there that address this topic.
It’s caused by a combination of factors. Most important is this “crazy-busy” issue. Today’s prospects zealously guard their time; it’s their most precious commodity. Every time they encounter a seller, they run through a mental checklist to determine if they should continue or end the conversation.
Unfortunately, most sellers don’t know how their prospects are thinking and haven’t adjusted their sales approach accordingly. Nor have they taken into account how their prospects use the internet to search for information about issues, educate themselves on solutions and review feedback on the option.
Instead, they still try to set up meetings to better understand their prospect’s needs and persuade them to use their solution. When everything a prospect needs to know is online, they have no need for the traditional salesperson.
However, prospects still need a lot of help. And, the seller who embraces the new way of selling will prosper
What do you mean by “SNAP Selling”?
SNAP is an acronym that stands for 4 key sales success strategies that sellers need to use today. Briefly, they are:
Rule 1: Keep It Simple. Because crazy-busy prospects cannot handle complexity of any sort, savvy sellers will do whatever it takes to make it easy for make a change from the status quo.
Rule 2: Be iNvaluable. Overwhelmed buyers want to work with experts who continually bring them fresh ideas. You, the seller, are now the primary differentiator – not your products or services.
Rule 3: Always Align. This is all about relevance and risk. When you’re aligned with their critical business objectives and core beliefs, people will want to work with you.
Rule 4: Raise Priorities. It’s an absolute imperative to work with frazzled prospects on their priority projects. With their limited capacity, that’s all they can currently focus on.
In SNAP Selling, I focus on numerous strategies that sellers can use to implement these new rules. Being aware of them is simply not enough. And, most people aren’t even aware of how they’re adding to the complexity or that they sound just like every other salesperson when they approach new prospects.
Of all your SNAP Selling recommendations, which seem to be the most difficult to follow? Why?
Planning and strategizing. By this, I mean doing the necessary pre-call research and analysis, and then figuring out the approach that’ll have the maximum impact.
Too many sellers still think they can get by with “winging it.” They’re dead wrong. But all that “thinking” work doesn’t feel like selling to these action-oriented individuals who much prefer to be in front of customers rather than prepping for it.
Also, many sales managers still believe that sales is a numbers game. They put constant pressure on their salespeople to make more calls. Their emphasis is on quantity, not quality. They don’t even realize that this management directive actually exacerbates their problems.
What has been the single greatest challenge that you had to overcome to achieve success and how did you eventually overcome it?
The hardest time ever was when my consulting business crashed about 10 years ago. My two biggest clients came under pressure from Wall Street at the same time and chopped all external consulting contracts. I went through a total lost period trying to decide what kind of work I wanted to do for the next decade of my life.
Then, when I was ready to get new clients, I couldn’t get my foot in the door. I’d always been a sales superstar, but now was failing miserably. For months, I feared that I’d lost my mojo and that my best days were behind me.
How did I recover? When I finally discovered that it wasn’t just me who was having problems, I decided to accept it as a challenge. I spent months studying what it took to crack into new accounts. I did tons of experimentation and fine-tuned my approach till it became a replicable methodology.
But in looking back, I’d say that key turning point was redefining the problem as a challenge. This mental switch freed up creativity and enabled new solutions to emerge. This downtime became the genesis of my online Selling to Big Companies initiative to help small businesses win big contracts. Then came the book by the same name. It resulted in a total transformation of my business within a few years.
