My friend Michael Port has been up to some serious writing as of late. You may remember when I introduced him on my blog as the author of “Beyond Booked Solid” which was the sequel to his best-selling book “Book Yourself Solid.” Today, I interviewed Michael on his new book (it’s crazy that he has written another one in such a short time period and has one slated for 2009). I’ll be catching up to him in the coming years though. His new book has a very different name than his previous ones. It’s called “The Contrarian Effect,” and it can be pre-ordered today and it will be out September 8th, which is 6 days before my birthday.
Michael Port was called a “marketing guru” by the Wall Street Journal, and has lectured, trained, inspired, and provided coaching and consulting services to over 20,000 business owners in the last two years alone. As a speaker, he has headlined events with leaders like Tim Sanders, Carly Fiorina, and Tony Robbins. He even stays with the times with his Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
What is the contrarian effect?
The Contrarian Effect is the idea that doing the opposite of what you should do (or what you’ve been told to do) can reap big rewards. Specifically, this book addresses why it pays – and pays big – to take the typical sales advice and do the opposite. My co-author, Elizabeth Marshall, and I challenge readers to question the effectiveness of the conventional wisdom and the worn out sales rhetoric that’s been around for over a century and to consider the benefits of doing the opposite – adopting an approach that’s relevant and in sync with what customers really want.
For example, conventional sales wisdom advises sales professionals to “always be closing.” While that strategy might have worked in the past, today’s customer is far too savvy to fall for the “sharp angle close” or the “assumptive close.” Given the choices that your potential clients and customers now have, you can’t afford to mess up a relationship by using a tactic that is ineffective (and often offensive) and that won’t help you gain the trust and credibility necessary to make a sale. After all, our customers are smarter than we think.
The Contrarian Effect happens when that same sales professionals decides to stop closing and to start doing the opposite, “always be opening.” When that same person looks for ways to continue opening the relationship and to provide value, amazing things happen. For one, he doesn’t lose the sale as a result of a worn out tactic like closing techniques. Secondly, he has a much better chance helping his potential customer buy when the time is right. Which is key. When that customer feels able to buy on his own terms, he will be sure to buy from that guy – and tell 10 of his friends to do the same.
Michael, I really enjoyed how you opened the book with the story about the Titanic. Can you explain how Captain Smith relates to typical salespeople?
When Elizabeth and I first began researching Captain Smith and the Titanic story, we were struck by the number of warnings the captain received about the iceberg. Despite his tremendous experience, his training and his education, he missed the signs (several of them) that the Titanic was headed straight for an iceberg. It was as if Captain Smith didn’t “see” the signs because he could not conceive of such a possibility that a ship like the Titanic could encounter such conditions at sea.
Many sales professionals are like Captain Smith. Educated and experienced, but unable (or unwilling) to see the signs of the market shift. These sales professionals cling to the old tactics and strategies, without noticing the major signs indicating that they no longer work. Signs that confirm that the customer is fully in charge and able to screen you out at a moment’s notice. Signs that confirm that the customer decides when to buy and when to advance the sale.
Like Captain Smith, these sales professionals are not recognizing (or acknowledging) the signs that they must adopt new attitudes and new behaviors in order to be relevant and in sync with today’s customer.
Why do traditional sales methods fail now and what are some new tactics people can use today since everyone is a personal salesman for their brand?
The typical sales tactics, such as cold calling and closing techniques, tend to fail for these reasons. First of all, they are outdated, irrelevant and out of sync with today’s customers and today’s marketplace. Given the volume and speed at which marketing and sales messages are hurtled towards our potential clients, we sales professionals only have a brief moment in which to connect with potential clients. And, if you try and connect with them on your terms and in the way that’s convenient for you (as opposed to the way in which they prefer), you lose. In fact, you may even lose the right to contact them in the future. That’s what happens when you cold call someone who doesn’t want to hear from you or try and close someone who’s not ready to buy. You not only lose the immediate sale, but you may lose any chance of connecting with them in the future.
This is the second reason that typical sales tactics no longer work. They are primarily designed to benefit the sales professional – not the customer. In the past, customers tolerated self-serving behaviors meant to advance the sale and benefit the sales professional. Those days are over. Customers know that they’ve got options – and that they don’t have to put up with selfish sales people.
For this reason, the traditional sales methods are no longer beneficial. They damage relationships and long-term sales potential. Sure, the typical tactics may still work to close a sale here and there. But, at what cost to the sales professional and to the company? Speeding up the sales cycle just to “make your numbers” or increase quarterly revenue may prompt some sales professionals to resort to typical tactics. While the pressure is understandable, the immediate payoff of a sale using the old-school tactics can result in long-term damage that far outweighs the sale du jour.
Can you talk about how Apple lost out by making their iPhone customers use AT&T, instead of all services?
Apple got it right with the iPhone. They created a relevant, hip product that fell right in line with the values of their customers – both current and potential. Apple understands what it takes to be in sync with customer wants and desires. Which is why their decision to lock customers into using AT&T was a bad decision. Apple chose to partner with AT&T because it benefitted them, not because the majority of Apple customers voiced a preference for AT&T. By forcing customers to use AT&T with the iPhone, they made a decision that negatively affected potential customers. Those would-be iPhone customers who didn’t have AT&T cell phone service were faced with a decision: either pay early termination charges and other fees just to use the iPhone or pass up buying the cool new device.
As a result of their decision, many iPhone customers took matters into their own hands and found a way to “unlock” the phone and use the iPhone on another cell network besides AT&T.
I like your quote “self-interest is just about as important as eating and drinking.” How is self-interest a motivator for getting things done and following one’s passion. Can self-interest be selfish?
Self-interest is an important motivator not only for sales professionals, but for any business professional. Self-interest basically means that you personally benefit from an interaction, event or relationship. For the sales professional who loves his product or service, the satisfaction that comes from making a sale or helping a new customer is often just as rewarding as the financial compensation that comes along with making a sale. That self-interest and desire to experience the good feelings that come when you know you’ve made a difference or positively impacted a customer are essential. It’s that desire for those good feelings that keeps sales professionals going during the slow times.
When does self-interest become selfish? When it overrides the best interests of your customer. For example, the sales professional who wants to close the sale today in order to make his numbers, despite the fact that his potential customer has indicated that “now’s not the right time.” That’s when self-interest takes a turn towards selfishness. Or, the sales person who sells you a service without worrying whether it will actually help you solve your problem or not.
What are the side-effects from poor salesmanship? How can that hurt one’s personal brand?
At the very least, poor salesmanship tends to result in less sales. Less repeat business. Sales professionals who don’t focus on the customer and seek to build trust and credibility also don’t have fans and loyal customers who seek out opportunities to refer the sales person to their friends.
Poor salesmanship, however, usually causes much more damage. Sales professionals who knowingly use the typical tactics with full knowledge of the bad effects that they can produce not only lose sales, but risk losing their good name and reputation. It only takes one customer with a megaphone and a blog to seriously damage your credibility and your reputation.
So, sales professionals who routinely practice bad manners and bad behavior may wake up one day to find themselves the topic of a blog post or a YouTube video about how not to treat customers or how not to make sales. Which is a big problem, when the next customer comes along and does a Google search on the sales professional before buying from him. Just one negative event can affect many future sales and future referrals.
