Your prospects are stupid, lazy, and selfish.
This is my sales philosophy. And, yeah, as a philosophy goes, it’s unlikely to rival Socrates or Nietzsche in terms of tone or being GCSE-textbook-friendly – but I guarantee they’d have subscribed to it too.
Because when you believe your prospects are stupid, lazy, and selfish, it changes your whole approach to how you engage with them.
The truth is your prospects probably aren’t any of these things (some definitely are, granted). They’re hopefully smart and driven and generous. But that’s the risk – because the most intelligent people may also be time-poor, the hardest-working have the least time, and the most-generous just not having the knowledge.
Where their circumstances aren’t perfect, we risk creating work for them – through a lack of clarity, concision, or value. And where we create work for them, we create friction. And, as we all know from those GCSE textbooks again, friction slows things down.
So how do we avoid friction?
Assume they’re stupid. Be clear, customer-centric, and jargon-free, right from the off; no acronyms, initialisms, or showy terms. Our job is to make our products and services obvious. The benefits, challenges, and consequences of missing out. If we’re making them work for this, they’ll turn their attention elsewhere; work hard so they don’t have to.
Assume they’re lazy. Laptops, phones, email and social media mean it’s never been easier to be “busy” – there is always something else to do. Make approaches and conversations easy for them by offering a range of times to talk, briefing templates to complete, clarity on the process and who needs to be involved, and helping them make the sale internally with tools and guides.
Assume they’re selfish. Everyone has their own ambitions and anxieties – and while what we have to share might be important to us, they probably have a million other things they’re focused on. Only by aligning what we sell to what they actually care about, are we likely to capture their attention and secure their interest. Ask questions and understand their personal pressures, not just their professional ones.
When we prepare for the worst, we’re prepared for the best. And when we treat these audiences with the time and consideration we want from them in kind, we’re able to leap out of the ‘good enough’ pond and ensure that every conversation and communication is as empathetic, effective, and enjoyable as possible.