sales iq
themselves, who shapes opinions in that field, who to avoid, and more. Here’s a quick checklist to use when you need to “notice more”: • Do a Google search on the industry itself • Ask people what terms they use to describe this industry or profession
• Explore the industry association and society Websites • See who the industry leaders and officers are (on the About Us pages of their sites)
• Research the Websites of the top companies and products or services
• Mystery shop some sites and stores • Watch a podcast, listen to an industry radio show, read their annual reports, or watch their Website promotional videos
• Read reports about industry events, such as conven- tions and expos
• Notice the topics they teach and who the teachers are • Then, immediately start to mention these new discov- eries as you interview potential clients in that field. See how they react to your queries and have them help you correct any misunderstandings or mispronunciations. You can also become more intelligent about selling. The
Get Smart JIM CATHCART
It has been said that intellect is the capacity to make dis- tinctions – to notice more. With that definition, it is clear that intellect is expandable. Let me restate that: you can increase your own intelligence. Yes, there is innate intellectual processing ability that
differs from person to person. That’s the sort of thing that is measured by clinical IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests. But all of us can become more intelligent on any topic we wish by intentionally and systematically noticing more about it. For example, if your client is in an industry you’ve never dealt with, you can become more intelligent about that industry through study. Say it is office furnishings. You can learn about the industry associations and profes- sional societies; the various subcategories of the indus- try, e.g., furniture, fixtures, specialty items, technology infrastructure, lighting, space design, climate control, traffic patterns, and multiple uses; and more. There is no end to how much you can learn. And, with each new piece of knowledge you acquire, you become more intelligent about how to sell to them, who to call on first, what jargon or language they use when talking about
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process is similar: Learn the languages of selling, under- stand the various phases or stages in a sale, and distin- guish between the differing types of selling. The more you notice, the more you know. The more you know, the more options you see. And the person with the most options available usually wins.
Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE, is the author of Relationship Selling and coauthor of The Sales IQ Assessment (with Jeffrey Gitomer and Tony Alessandra).
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