What Rhinos Know About Sales Relationships
In South Africa, national parks have a "shoot to kill" order for anyone caught poaching a rhinoceros. Last year, nearly 10% of the black rhinos in the world were killed for their horns.
Sales Insights from the Zebra
When you're out on a safari, zebras are everywhere. They're grazing with the giraffes, kibitzing with the kudus and wandering with the warthogs. And, because they're so "Africa," they were one of the highlights of my trip.
On the second day of our safari, our guide posed this question when we saw a herd: "So why do zebras have stripes?"
Selling Secrets from the Giraffes
Sales Safari Series
We didn't watch the sleeping rhinos for too long before we decided to move on. Little did we know what awaited us just around the bend.
Nothing can prepare you for being right in the midst of herd of giraffes. As these tall, gangly, beautiful animals nibbled the leaves off the top of the trees, we snapped photo after photo.
But the giraffes weren't alone. Over the course of our 3-day safari, we saw them with wildebeest, kudo, impala, tsessebe, zebra, springbok and more.
They stay together because, when you're hunted daily by the big cats, jackals and hyenas, there's security in numbers. Plus, each of the herd animals bring a special talent to the group.
The Sales Wisdom of the Elephant
Moments after entering Pilanesburg National Park, we came to a screeching halt to watch a matriarchal herd of twenty-five elephants cross the road. In the group were toddlers who barely came up to their mommy's tummy, as well as teenagers who were being chastised for unruly behavior.
One-by-one, the elephants marched down to the lake where they drank their fill and played in the water. Next, they moved to the mud pits to wallow in the muck.
Finally, they wandered over to dry ground, where they used their trunks to coat themselves and their friends with sand. It was fun to watch!
So what can we learn about sales from the elephants?
Why You Must Assume - Even Though You've Been Told It's Something You Should Never Do
Don't get me wrong! I love being a consultative seller. It's literally a part of my sales DNA. But a few years ago, I discovered that "being consultative" didn't convince decision makers that it was worth their valuable time to meet with me.
To show you what I mean, let me take you into their world and put you center stage as the designated future customer.
The Year I Lost My Brain - And How I Found It Again
It started exactly 12 months ago, right after SNAP Selling came out. At first I didn't recognize the symptoms, but in retrospect, they were there. I was crazy-busy, running from one "must do" activity to the next. My inbox overflowed. I was constantly online, answering emails, tweeting, blogging, whatever.
Sales Language Defines Your Sales Approach
Recently I was reading an article in the New York Times called, “Does Your Language Shape How You Think?” Of course, that got me thinking about how sellers talk about this profession.
Take Xerox, for example. I’ll never forget the first time I sat in on a team meeting after I’d been promoted to major accounts. We were supposed to “get in bed with our customers.” Sales was about seduction and scoring was the ultimate goal! [I'm not a prude, but as a woman I was appalled at the conversations.]