Shining light

Recently I was asked to speak to some new sales people in an effort to help them close out some sales. They all had good sales potential in their pipeline, but could not seem to get their potential customers to go ahead and sign on the dotted line. It is perhaps the number one problem that sales people have in executing their responsibilities. All seem to be highly motivated and can obtain appointments and then are entirely capable of presenting a decent sales presentation; however closing the deal is what separates the men from the boys and that is where they are struggling.

I told them it is all about making the customer understand that what they are selling will make the potential customer’s personal situation so much better than it is now, that it is worth the effort to get off their lazy behinds and jump through the hoops that are necessary to purchase something. It is not easy because most of our potential customers are working for government entities and thus they are bureaucrats and by their very nature bureaucrats do not like to take risks, as in buying an expensive technology solution, nor do they like to spend untold hours actually having to work to prepare an RFP, or watch vendor presentations, ask their boss (or their bosses’ boss) to allow them to spend the funds to do so, or find the money in their tight budgets, and lastly, but certainly not the least important thing, they have absolutely no sense of urgency. In other words their approach is often, if not today, then tomorrow, if not tomorrow, then next week, month, year, century, millennium, eon.

I excel in this area because I have a knack for understanding the pain that they are enduring by not having a system and I can effectively communicate to them that yes they might have to endure a little pain in the procurement process; however if they will spend just a little energy for this brief period of time, my system can and will take a far larger pain away from them for a very long period of time and make their life easier than it is now.

Oftentimes their pain is different. They might be constantly strapped for cash and want to save money; they might be having trouble complying with complex government regulations and their manual system cannot provide them timely and accurate information; it might be that their employees are struggling mightily by trying to perform their jobs manually using primitive methods without access to modern tools in their modern business environment; or it might be a combo of all of the above, but there is something out there that will trigger them to take action if we will just look hard enough and present it to them properly.

I was thinking about this on the plane ride home the other day and I could not help but think how similarly difficult it is to try and convince someone to accept the Lord as their Savior, or even go to church. I admit I personally struggle in this area and I am told that I excel in motivating people to action. I understand these new sales people’s frustration. It seems so clear to me that everyone should be lining up to get into church to RUN down the aisle in order that they might start enjoying the benefits of being a child of God and living the good life of being a Christian; however some of my friends have languished literally for years in not making a decision and I worry constantly about their eternal well-being. I have tried my utmost to convince them to no avail.

One thing that I have always used to reinforce my sales pitch in business is references. It is perhaps THE most effective way to sell. Just tell the potential customer to call an existing satisfied customer and hear it straight from the horse’s mouth how everything I am promising the potential customer came true for the existing customer and the pain involved with obtaining and implementing the technology system was minimal compared to the benefits derived from the system actually eliminating their larger pains that are now in the distant past as a result of implementing our technology system.

Hmmm The Bible tells us to so let our light shine that others will want to come to God. In other words if others can observe the happiness and joy in our lives that we know in our hearts can only be derived from a close relationship with our Lord, then that in itself will be a big factor in helping to convince them to do likewise. If we act like those in the world who do not know God, we will have a hard time convincing anyone to join our ranks. Just like a bad reference can ruin a pending sale, a Christian who does not act like a Christian can do likewise. Think about it.

Matt 5:16
Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father in
heaven.