Back in the 1700s, a Japanese ship traveling through the Aleutian Islands sank. Normally this would not be news because ships sink all the time, but this ship was special. It was special not because of the treasure it carried, but because of something else on board: Norwegian Rats. The rats spilled off the ship and swam to shore. A new phrase was born-- "Rat Spill," the process of a ship introducing rats to a formerly rat-free island. In this case, the island formerly known as Howadax was overrun and quickly gained the romantic name "Rat Island." The rat infestation got so bad that no other animals could survive on the island and in less than 25 years, the rats could only eat plants or each other. Biologists believe non-native "Rat Spills" are responsible for 40 to 60 percent of all island-based bird and reptile extinctions since 1600.
The big problem is that rats have few natural predators. Rats quickly take over and can ruin even the most scenic and beautiful island. Rats can ruin a sales call too.
As a sales trainer, I have seen a wide variety of companies show up to training with the hope that they can improve their presentation skills in order to close more business. They are often happy to show me presentation decks filled with facts, figures, white papers, and expensive research results. Sometimes they include animation and sound. Unfortunately, the stories the sales managers tell let me know that these presentation decks are actually the problem.
As your salespeople get closer to closing a sale, they typically have an overwhelming desire to tell the prospective client all about their fabulous process and solution, the features and benefits that make your company so special, better, and different. But that is like a "Rat Spill;" it crowds out all of the naturally occurring questions the prospect has. It introduces questions the prospect didn't have and creates the chance for the prospect to say "we tried that and it did not work" or "we have never tried that and it will not work." And once your "rats" are running around a sales call, there is no way to control them. In fact, "Rat Spill" presentations kill 40 to 60 percent of all sales opportunities.
We work with our clients on "Rat Spill Prevention." We help them understand the fragile ecosystem of a sales call and how dangerous it is to introduce uninvited animals. We help them close sales by focusing on their prospect's problems and finding ways for their prospects to help design a solution.
Not sure what is taking over your team's sales calls? We help our clients eradicate the vermin that keep their sales teams from selling.
We should talk.
Contact Matt Nettleton, Sandler Training, DTB at matt.nettleton@sandler.com or 317-695-8549.
