Putting My Mouth Where My Money Is

“Would you like to skip the painkillers today, Phil?”

My dentist was about to drill away some decay in one of my teeth to ready it for a filling. Typical stuff, really, made bearable today by local anesthesia, or “painkillers.”

But a new kind of dental “bur” is available that we’re helping a client bring to market. Essentially, a bur is the “bit” of a dental hand piece-the sharp end of the stick most of us know as a “drill.”

Our client, SS White Burs, a well-known and highly respected dental manufacturer with a 165-year history of groundbreaking achievement, has developed a new polymer bur that reduces or eliminates the need for an anesthetic. The bur is hard enough to remove decay but not hard enough to damage the healthy tooth itself. Many dentists aren’t even aware it exists-yet.

However, at my request, our client had called on my dentist, who I suddenly realized was asking if he could try out the new bur on me. In other words, how enthusiastic was I about my client’s “painless” product? An experience I had a few years ago came to mind.

At a software firm’s retreat,  on the night before I was to deliver an address about marketing, one of the firm’s salespeople asked me what I was going to talk about. (He wanted to skip my talk to play golf, especially if he already knew all about the topic.)

The topic, I told him, would be “Why do 20 percent of the salespeople sell 70 to 80 percent of all new business?” He smiled because now he knew he would play golf. “That’s easy,” he said.

“They are enthusiastic and motivated!”

But in reality it’s not that simple. Why? You know yourself that you rarely, if ever, meet a top producer who is not motivated and enthusiastic about his company and the product or service he is selling. I know I never have. But you have met plenty of motivated, enthusiastic salespeople who are not top producers. In selling, enthusiasm is required but not sufficient. “Skip the golf game,” I suggested.

Now, as my dentist waited expectantly for my answer, my enthusiasm about my client’s product was about to be tested to the max.

“Well?” my dentist asked again. “Should we skip the painkillers?”

My heart skipped a beat  as I said, “Absolutely! Let’s skip the painkillers and try the new bur.”

Wow, I thought to myself, “Am I going the extra mile for a client or what? And, then, “What have I gotten myself into?” My first experiences in a dentist’s chair were as a child, when needles were not so thin, drills not so fast, and painkillers not so effective as they are today.

Fortunately, my enthusiasm for my client’s product, bolstered by my dentist’s confidence, was well placed. It all turned out well. No needles. No anesthesia. No numbness to slow me down afterward. Gain without pain!

What lesson does my adventure hold for salespeople?  Simply this: As the seller you almost always know more about what you’re selling than the buyer knows about what he is buying. And, even if he doesn’t consciously realize it, a buyer uses a seller’s enthusiasm, or lack of it, to narrow the field. After all, with everything the seller knows about a product or service, if the seller is not enthusiastic, why should the buyer be? In fact, a lack of enthusiasm by a seller can actually signal a buyer to back away.

Put another way: Though required, enthusiasm alone is not sufficient to win the sale. You must have a strong, customized sales process to carry the day.

Our consultants and I make this point, and many others, when we teach our consultative sales course, FOCIS®. And with great enthusiasm, I might add.

Wouldn’t you like to improve your consultative selling skills or those of your salespeople? If so, just give us a call. You’ll enjoy gain without pain. I promise.

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