Company leaders strive to create positive noise about their offering. They strive to be the topic of positive conversations. They want to create “buzz” for their company and offerings, resulting in heightened visibility and credibility. It’s a bonus when we get to sell for the buzz creators but the best salespeople also know how to sell when we aren’t the hot topic. There are three stages of what I call the “buzz spectrum” and salespeople must be able to execute The Five Abilities® (VISABILITY, CREDABILITY, VIABILITY, CAPABILITY, & RELIABILITY) in all stages.
Stage 1: Creator – It’s beneficial to sell for a company that is creating positive buzz. (I’ll save the problem of negative buzz for another article.) With this fortunate circumstance we have to be ready to use this added visibility to see more customers and win more business. Customers will want in-depth information on our innovations that created the buzz and we have to be credible representatives so that we avoid turning buzz into doubt.
In the late 1980s, HP ran a set of “What if…” commercials. The message was that HP sales and service people were consultative problem-solvers. It was great visibility for those selling for HP but if we didn’t engage with a consultative approach, we lost the benefit of the buzz. If our focus was pitching versus problem-solving the customers would think, ‘Where’s the person in the commercial?’
Stage 2: Contributor – In the real world, we most often sell without the benefit of buzz created by our company and products. Many salespeople have never had the fortune of working for a buzz creator. Fortunately, creators need contributors. They need others, often channel partners, to amplify the buzz. When in the contributor role we must demonstrate our credibility with direct knowledge of the buzz and we must present ourselves as capable and reliable deliverers of products creating the buzz.
Windows 95 was one of the most anticipated product launches in the PC industry. Microsoft was creating so much buzz you couldn’t find a trade publication without an article on “Chicago” – the product’s code name. It was critical that our channel partners were credible experts on the product, that they were seen as viable Microsoft partners such that they had access to information not publicly available and that they were capable of helping customers succeed with the new product. Microsoft had to ensure that channel partners had access to information but it was ultimately up to the partner to become credible and viable experts so they could contribute to the buzz.
Stage 3: Consumer – Veteran salespeople know that there are many times when we aren’t creating or contributing to the buzz – we are simply consumers of information. Importantly, this doesn’t mean we’re irrelevant to our customers but we must help them understand how this new buzz will advance their business. We must learn enough to know how to help or we’ll be behind and become a hindrance.
When I sold checks for American Bank Stationery, in the early 1980s, the banking industry was just introducing the Automated Teller Machine (ATM). ATMs and credit cards, were creating buzz as the future of how people would get cash and how they’d make purchases. Part of that buzz was that people wouldn’t need checks anymore. No need for a checkbook, simply use a little plastic card. Certainly, we had to tout the continued benefits of checks but we also had to acknowledge where the industry was moving. When we did sales training for new accounts representatives, we helped them develop benefit statements for the bank’s ATMs and credit cards. We still represented checks as necessary in certain cases but we changed our approach to adapt to the industry and to ensure we were helping – not hindering. We remained consultative and kept selling checks even though we weren’t creating any buzz.
Know where you are on the buzz spectrum (creator, contributor or consumer) and adjust your sales approach to ensure you remain consultative and beneficial to your customers.
©2015 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC
