Greg Bennett's Rambling Thought #12

Greg Bennett's Rambling Thought #12: Dissolve the Delusional Barriers Between You and Client

For this thought I'm going to do a "mind freak" on you...I want you to imagine that there are two ingredients sitting on a counter top in a baker's kitchen, one is a liquid (like oil or water), the other a solid (like flower or sugar)...at first they're separate, but the moment they touch...the moment they come together...both are changed and they become something else entirely.   And that something else, while still containing both ingredients, exists only because of the joint efforts of both entities...AND, obviously both parties must commit to remaining in the partnership once it's formed, because you really can't pull them apart fully once they've mixed.

Now...I want you to imagine that the sales situation is just like the counter top...with two ingredients, the liquid (let's make that the seller), and the solid (the client)...for us to make a great partnership together, we must give some of ourselves to the partnership to become one...we must be willing to blend, to mix, to let down the ego and lose a piece of our own identity in order to be a part of something bigger, different, hopefully a better expression...it doesn't mean we don't retain our root identity (the remaining water is still water), it just means that when we give a piece of ourselves to the engagement (the partnership with the client), it must be with the thought that I'm giving it with a willingness to be changed, and I'm committed to remain in the relationship after we've mixed.

Unfortunately, most salespeople (and most clients) approach the sales process with the idea that I must retain my own identity ALWAYS while trying to interact with the other ingredient, and still hope for the best outcome.

So sellers walk around in what I call a delusional view of the sales world.  Where I, the seller, am over here...and you, the client, are over there...and our relationship is nothing more than I tell you who I am...and you tell me who you (the client) is...then we offer a little of ourselves up for a possible connection, BUT we put that in a little clear plastic bag...both bags are then tossed in a bowl and are swirled around, but never mingled...what they create is usually just a combination of two bags sitting together not doing much...there is no mixture...

This plays out in the way most salespeople view the sales process...where we, the seller, own our stuff before THE SALE, then hand it off to the client (but being careful never to touch the other)...and now THEY own 'the stuff' after the sale, and they have to figure out what to do with it going forward.

I believe we must drop this delusion a.s.a.p., and start to see the interaction between seller and client as a true partnership, where we need to dissolve this mine and yours nonsense, this separateness, this ego creation we believe is real...and we start to seek a mixture of ingredients.

The partnership we're building is then much bigger than an exchange of goods...a "sale"...it is truly the creation of something much bigger, and hopefully better for all parties.

I believe this speaks to a bigger, deeper, conversation about how you experience the world in general, but we'll get into THAT at a later time...

Good mixing!

GB

Just one of Greg Bennett's "99 Rambling Thoughts on Successful Selling"