Pick up a copy of Same Side Selling.

For the first few years of my adventures in entrepreneurship, I told friends and colleagues that I’m not good at sales. I would explain that my expertise is in marketing and communications, but not sales. Guess what, I was wrong. I had to be.

I had always thought of sales in the worst possible way. I envisioned the cheesy, pushy, used-car sales guy. Or the uppity, asshat in business class on his second cocktail before takeoff.

One day, it dawned on me that if I run my own business and I am not good at sales, I’m in big trouble. If I am my only employee, I had better be damned great at sales or my family will suffer. 

Spoiler alert: You don’t have to be a jerk to excel in sales.

I went out on my own as a consultant and professional trainer and speaker in 2011. I’m happy to report that I have increased my earnings each year. I have become more knowledgable in how best to approach sales, but I don’t consider myself an expert.

One true sales expert I personally know is Ian Altman, co-author (along with Jack Quarles) of Same Side Selling: How Integrity and Collaboration Drive Extraordinary Results for Sellers and Buyers. I absolutely loved the lessons and approach to sales taught in their excellent book. Spoiler alert: You don’t have to be a jerk to excel in sales.

In this short blog post, I’m going to share some key takeaways directly from Same Side Selling. There is much more within the book that you should not miss. Pick up a copy.

Same Side Selling Takeaways

There is an adversarial trap that causes buyers and sellers to work against each other instead of collaborating. Replace this trap with a cooperative, collaborative mindset. 

Selling is not a game because in a game one side wins and the other loses.

Selling is a puzzle. With a puzzle, you are solving. You create something and over time provide value. People sit on the same side to determine if the pieces fit. It’s better to solve puzzles than play games. 

Same side selling is about finding the fit. FIT. Finding Impact Together.

The objective is to be seen as a solver instead of a seller.

Answer the questions:

• Whom do you help?

• What do you do to help them?

• Why do they need your help?

The most successful pitch will resonate with the prospect’s pain.

Find people who not only face problems you can solve, but also recognize those problems and believe they are worth solving.

Focus on the challenges that your client is facing, rather than on the things you are selling. 

Entice. Disarm. Discover.

• Entice. Entice the customer by identifying something you have that might be of interest.

• Disarm. Make it clear that you are not there to sell, but want merely to see if there is a fit. 

• Discover. Trigger a discovery phase in which you learn about them (instead of opening a meeting talking about your stuff). 

The truth is always your ally in same side selling, even when it seems to decrease the likeliness of making a sale. 

Ask who else is affected by this project? How can we engage them in a way that works for you?

Don’t start with your qualifications. Start with the buyer’s problem

Gracefully guide the conversation away from details and toward impact.

It is not the client’s job to see the big picture.

If your price is too high don’t discount. Rather expand the scope to create more value.

What do you think?

How do you handle sales? Are you an expert or a novice? What sales lessons have you learned over the years?

One of the biggest challenges for any consultant is business development. I would be lying if I said my business was booming - always. I’ve written about the big business lie we tell one another before. Business isn’t always great sometimes it’s actually terrible. 

I recently picked up a copy of How Clients Buy: A Practical Guide to Business Development for Consulting and Professional Services by Tom McMakin and Doug Fletcher. I literally found the book on the shelf at the airport and purchased a copy. I usually buy books or get sent books that come recommended to me but the title resonated with me, so I coughed up some cash and dug right in.

The following are my key takeaways directly from How Clients Buy:

It’s crucial that we recognize the seven elements of how clients buy. They have to be aware of your existence. They come to understand what you do and how you’re unique. They develop an interest. They respect your work and are filled with confidence that you can help them. They trust you. They have the ability to pull the trigger. They are ready to do something.

In professional services, we are the product. The biggest challenge in our path to become rainmakers is to unlearn what we think we already know. 

If you want to be remembered, you must find a category where you can be number one. You have to know who you want to serve. Identify the type of company but also the role inside the company who you help. When selling consulting or professional services, the goal is not to identify prospects and process them like corn flakes; it is to identify a community and position ourselves to serve it over time. Prospective clients cannot engage with us unless they know us. Niche yourself and then re-niche yourself over time. 

Create a point of differentiation. When there’s a really clear association in your mind between a person that you trust and the problem that they can solve, it makes it easier to refer you.

Great client relationships are built over time on foundations of trust and are not, by definition, transactional. Respect trumps charm when it comes to most buying decisions for consulting and professional services. Instead of focusing on like in “know, like and trust” focus on respect. They have to know, respect and trust you. 

Clients have to conclude that: What you do is relevant to them and their goals. You have to solve a problem, support a strategic initiative, or promote an organizational agenda that is on their plate. The goal is to be a problem solver. If you can tell them a solution before they recognize they have a problem they need, you are best positioned to win the business.

New business comes from three places: repeat, recommendations, new clients with no relationship. Always start with your current or past clients.

A high-return opportunity with very low risk will attract attention. Dedicate time every day to building genuine relationships with clients and prospective clients. Never underestimate the value of networking and the value of your network. 

The secret to business development is to ask lots of questions. Start from a place of empathy. No one ever needs a consultant until they do.

There are many actionable ideas you will learn in How Clients Buy. I highly recommend you pick up a copy now and dig right in.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

The salesman rolled his eyes and nodded "yes" as I asked him for one final request before he closed the sale. I needed him to give me a lift home with my brand-new stereo. He was flabbergasted at this sixteen-year-old kid's audacity to make such a request (on top of the other ones). 

I was reminded of this tale of haggling as I read "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" by Ramit Sethi. In it, he shared a cliche about how Indian men (including his father) always drive inexpensive cars and are masters of haggling their way to the best price. I can't comment on this cliche; the only Indian cliche I have is (like Newfoundlanders); they are always the nicest people. Honestly, I've never met an Indian person I didn't instantly like. 

Sethi cracked me up as he shared his embarrassment at his father's attempts to hammer down the price to the last penny. This made me laugh because I was reminded of how my dad taught me to haggle by witnessing many of his cringe-worthy encounters with salespeople.

Haggling Helps

Haggling is part of commerce with few exceptions. You always have to ask what the salesperson's best price is. Take it further if he or she won't budge on the price by adding, "Okay, I guess you don't have the power to negotiate." See what happens when you put their authority on the line.

When I was sixteen, I worked full-time, saving money for a sweet Sony stereo. My dream setup included a six-pack CD changing player, woofer, speakers, and double tape deck for making mixtapes. I finally had enough in the bank to make my purchase. 

It was a humid summer day in 1988 when I locked up my Redline RL-22 BMX bike at the post outside the stereo store. A young sales guy approached and asked me what I was looking for. He didn't expect to make a sale at first because of my combat boots, army pants, and Suicidal Tendencies t-shirt. I assured him I had the money and was dying to buy my dream stereo today. Somehow he was convinced that I was legitimate and not needing to be institutionalized.

The sale price was around $799. I was able to talk him down to $700. I revealed $700 cash, and his eyes grew larger as he envisioned his commission. As he was about to ring me up, he added that I would need to purchase $80 worth of cables sold separately. I told him I couldn't afford those and that he would have to include them. He pushed me to purchase them and I stood my ground (just like my dad taught me). The man spoke with his supervisor and returned soon after, agreeing to include the cables at no extra cost. 

I was annoyed that he tried to upsell me the cables to operate the stereo. I glanced over at a set of three blank tapes on the endcap and added them to the box. I said I would like the cassettes included in the purchase too. Miffed, he agreed to add them since he knew the store cost for the cassettes wasn't that much. 

He rang up the sale in his till and I counted seven hundred dollars cash. That's when I sprang my final request. The truth was, I never considered how I would get my bike home with so many heavy boxes. He smiled and shook his head as he agreed to give me and my bike a lift home.

Haggling may feel icky to some, but it is essential to get the best possible deal. Don't be afraid to ask for the best price or other things in your life. Ramit Sethi discusses a brilliant haggling technique with your monthly service providers who add annual fees to your bills. Your ask can lead you to a new job, client, relationship, discount from your credit card company, and even a new stereo. 

You can bet I got home and cranked my music to eleven to celebrate! 

I am currently writing this from a small town north of Toronto, Ontario. I had lunch with an old friend who is a steel salesperson today. He spends his time driving from metal shop to metal shop across the province meeting with owners to close sales and build his network. He is old school and it works for him.

I asked him for his advice on how he makes sales and he told me to knock on some doors.

Most of my business at Futureforth comes from word of mouth. The trouble is, I sometimes depend on it too much. Instead of knocking on doors, I wait for the business owners to knock on mine. It doesn't sound very proactive, right? It isn't.

Instead of driving back to his office after our lunch, he was going to pop into a few businesses he noticed as he drove to meet me. He literally will walk in unannounced and introduce himself. He's not a pushy, sales guy. He simply wants to meet the owners and get on their radar. 

People do business with those they know, like and trust.

He will ask the owners if they need any steel now. If so, he will offer to get a quote. If the owner says no, he will suggest that he give them a quote to share his prices. My friend is a charming, good guy. He's not a slick, sales jerk. 

His main goal is to make people like him. He reminded me that people do business with those they know and like. If they like him, they will decide to give him a chance for business. Once he makes a sale, he's in with that new customer. 

It all starts with knocking on some doors. It was a good reminder for me to do the same. How about you?