Order Taker or Salesman; How Well Can You Arouse the Sleeping Giant?

I have this recurring fantasy that I'm sitting on the beach in a recliner drinking margaritas and my BlackBerry is exploding with calls and e-mails for new orders. Everybody wants what I'm selling, and they're coming to me! Later, in the same fantasy, I leave the beach to go to an inland lake for some bass fishing. While cruising out to my first spot I notice, on my fish finder, a school of bass following me... and as soon as I cut the engine and drop the trolling motor they start literally jumping in my boat! Five and Ten pounders just flopping right in!!!

Reality check. That's not how selling or fishing usually occurs.

Why not? Simple. Bass and prospects don't move around in a constant state of hunger. We know how easy it is to sell to somebody who is actively looking for our services- perhaps they called us, and we merely take their order. Likewise, when bass are feeding we can enjoy a great day of angling. But after the bass eats his fill he's no longer hunting for food.

... bass don't stay in a constant state of visual alertness. They are not always actively scanning their surroundings. Sometimes they are more in what might be politely called a mental fog.
- Knowing Bass, Keith A Jones, PhD

So what is our job? "Stage 1: Arousing the sleeping giant," as Dr. Jones outlines in Knowing Bass. His research shows that even in this mental fog, since they are opportunistic predators, bass will become aroused by bait that crosses their path... and if it's enticing enough the bass will launch an active search for that prey, run some taste tests, and ultimately strike or turn away.

Wow, is this sounding familiar! Though I would never say my prospects were in a mental fog- at least not publicly! Seriously though, most of my prospects have already acquired the service I provide, so they are not actively looking for it. They are usually in a status quo mode, or hunting for some other business (or personal) need they have. Rarely do I call on someone who is waiting for me, ready to do business.

More often than not, I have to find a way to arouse the prospect, so they will actively engage in the rest of the sales process with me. So how is that accomplished? First- you have to get close enough. If a bass is not actively hunting he's not going to care about a lure that's hundreds of yards away. Do whatever you can to get in front of your decision maker. Once you're in front of him or her you have to offer enough of a value proposition to get them engaged. If the bass isn't excited by the movement, color or odor of the bait he will simply slip back into that inactive state.

Remember what links us to bass and to our prospects: we are all opportunistic predators! If a great deal comes swimming right under our nose we will check it out.

So two things I have worked on- and constantly tweak- are my strategies for getting directly in front of decision makers, and what I can tell/show them immediately that will engage them. If the fish and the prospects aren't biting, it's probably you, not them! Do something to arouse them.

I was recreationally fishing Lake Ontario with Rhett and Chris a few summers back when I put my pole down and declared that the fish weren't biting. Rhett, in his infinite wisdom, quipped "the fish don't stop biting, John. The fishermen stop fishing."

Knowing now what I know about bass, Rhett's remarks are even more profound. Rhett, I guess what I meant is that the bass weren't actively feeding!

So I say to you: the prospects don't stop buying, the salesmen stop selling.