Look at the new car industry. Not long ago, new car salespeople were viewed as Yoda, the wise and knowledgeable being in Star Wars. Those salespeople knew everything about the features, functions and deals. Buyers relied on them to share their wisdom so that educated car purchase decisions could be made because they had no other way to know the information.

We don’t need new car salespeople to play the Yoda role anymore. The internet puts every bit of information (and even more than what the salespeople shared) at our fingertips. As a matter of fact, more and more, people are making their purchasing decisions without ever setting foot in the dealership. They research online and make a buying decision.

If you are a new car salesperson clinging to the Yoda past, you probably aren’t selling many cars today. You’ve not adapted your approach with the changes in the buying process, which puts you at risk.

The internet changed selling

The internet hasn’t just impacted the new car salespeople. It has changed selling for every salesperson on the planet. Salespeople used to be able to show up on a prospect’s doorstep and ask, “What is it you do here?” Given that the only way to learn that information was to ask, prospects were often willing to share it. Ask that question today and you will quickly be shown the door.

Salespeople need to leverage a sales differentiation strategy that grabs a buyer’s attention in the first moments of the conversation. If not, making calls is merely wasted motion.

Imagine it’s the middle of the night. There’s a pounding at your door. You scramble to put on your robe and rush downstairs to see who it is. It’s the police!

“We want to talk to you about a crime…”

How did they find you? Did they just knock on every door until they found a suspect? Of course they didn’t. The evidence has led them to your doorstep and that’s why they are contacting you right now.

What if the police’s strategy to solve crimes was to ring every doorbell and say “Hi, did you commit a crime today? If so, could you tell me which one?” No suspects would ever be caught.

As ridiculous as that sounds, this is exactly how most salespeople approach prospecting. They start making calls without a “sales crime theory” which means good luck finding suspects. If you can’t find suspects, you can’t turn them into prospects. No prospects means no sales. That’s a sequence of events that even makes sense to Inspector Clouseau.

Sales quality and quantity

There’s an old expression about sales being merely a numbers game. While there is truth in the need for quantity, quality is also an important measurement. Prospects won’t tolerate being the sales call of the day. Not today! While it is accepted that salespeople hear tons of “no” before getting to “yes,” it is exacerbated by poor sales preparation.

Let’s say a salesperson plans to call the CFO of a manufacturing company. In this case, the sole objective of the phone call is to schedule a face-to-face meeting. Before ever picking up the phone, this salesperson needs to:

• Research the prospect’s company by visiting the website and by conducting an online search of it
• Research the prospect’s industry by visiting association websites and by conducting an online search of them
• Research the prospect’s competitors’ websites and conduct an online search of them
• Research CFOs to learn their language (terminology), challenges and areas of focus today
• Identify your company’s three most compelling differentiators that would resonate with a CFO

This information provides salespeople with the tools to develop a sales crime theory…a compelling set of reasons to contact this CFO today.

There are many salespeople who will not adapt to their new selling environment. Those salespeople will most certainly be run out of the profession. Those who want to not just survive, but also thrive, will perpetually question the sales differentiation strategies that made them successful yesterday to see if those same ones will make them successful today and tomorrow.

How you sell, not just what you sell, differentiates you.