ceo spotlight Cultivating the Relationship Sale BILL MCDERMOTT
Bill McDermott is CEO of SAP. In this monthly Selling Power magazine column, he shares vital lessons about selling, success, and winning. Learn from a role model whose clarity of thought and passion for winning generated extraordinary results, and check out his new book, Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office.
One summer morning when I was a sales trainee in New York City, a senior salesman I worked with, Bob, got a hot lead. Bob jumped up from his chair and told me to grab a small copy machine and an electronic typewriter – two products our company sold back in the 1980s – and each of us carried a machine on our back, in the heat, to the office of the potential new client. We arrived at the ad- dress, a residential brownstone. The home office was on the fourth floor, but there was no elevator. We were already sweaty from walking when we began our ascent, hauling the heavy machines up each flight. When we reached the top, there was no time to catch
our breath because the staircase emptied us into a beautifully appointed work and living space. A profes- sionally dressed woman walked out from a back room, and I was about to say hello when a cat – a cat! – flew at me and landed on my chest. I felt its claws sinking through my suit and into my sweaty skin. Bob stared at me in shock, and even though an instinct urged me to save my suit and remove the cat and throw it back to where it came from, I did not. Why? Because the second the animal hit my chest, a stronger instinct told me that tossing the pet so I could launch into a scripted sales pitch would kill any chance we had of creating a rela- tionship and closing the deal.
In that moment, I understood one of the greatest truths about sales, and it had nothing to do with the products I was selling. So even though a small animal was clinging to me as if I were a tree, I smiled at the woman. “Garfield’s got nothing on this cat!” I declared, gently peeling the feline off my body. Instead of letting it go, I held onto it. I petted it. The expression on the woman’s face told me she loved this kitty, and we two began
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talking about the cat and then about dogs. I told her about a homeless German shepherd I used to sneak food to when I was a busboy in high school. It was an intimate conversation between two strangers. Mean- while, Bob started twitching, as if he couldn’t believe his sale was about to go down the toilet because some rookie salesman was screwing around with a stupid cat and telling stories. Eventually, I handed the cat to its owner and asked if I could explain how to operate the copier we had brought with us.“Hon, do I really need to see a demo?” the woman asked me.
The question was rhetorical. The deal was done. She
ordered one copier and one typewriter. We never had to take the machines out of their cases. Even back then, as a nascent sales rep, I knew that sell- ing was about people, not just about products. Every time I entered a room, I enjoyed trying to figure out people’s moods, needs, and interests. Did I have my own agenda? Absolutely, but I also cared about other people’s agendas. I wanted to know what mattered to someone standing in front of me. Once we connected on a more personal level, anything became possible That’s why, throughout my ca- reer in sales as well as in leadership, I continue to adhere to some fundamental truths: 1. What’s important to the customer is the prime focus, not what’s important to you. Ask yourself, “Do I begin every meeting ready to listen to what my cus- tomers have to say, or do I begin expecting them to listen to what I have to say?” If you aren’t walking into every room curious about what others care about, don’t bother walking in.
2. Have a plan, but also have the courage to impro- vise. Ask yourself, “Am I prepared to deviate from my sales process?” In stressful situations, is your instinct to stick to the script? Improvisation is part of the art of sales. Try to authentically connect to what matters to people, especially in a stressful moment. 3. Always remember who the boss is. Ask yourself, “Who is in charge of the meeting?” It’s not always who you assume, and in some odd cases it may be a cat, dog, spouse, or the prospect’s grandchild. The point is to never let your assumptions or your agenda upstage the boss.
QUESTIONS FOR SALES MANAGERS 1. How do you help your sales teams improvise? Do you practice or role-model different situations? Do you give them permission to go off script? If you
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