Sales Fundamentals

By Thomas Jensen

 

#2: The First 30 Seconds

The second Sales Fundamental is you.

Yes, you.

How you present yourself. Why the first impression you leave is critically important and why understanding this and acting on it will make you more successful.

Years ago, at the beginning of my career, I was in Australia accompanying one of our division’s star reps on sales meetings. A veteran from the Australian Special Forces, he was crisply dressed and meticulously groomed. He looked like a winner.

At our first call the building’s lobby-board showed that our prospect was on the second floor. I started past the elevators for the stairwell, ready to take two steps at a time, anxious to kick off our meeting.

“Where are you going, Thomas?” he asked, and not politely.

“The stairs. It’s only one floor.”

This guy had been in the special forces, for crying out loud. I might be a soft desk-warrior sales guy, but I could handle two flights of stairs. I sure as hell knew he could.

He raised his hand. “Hold it.”

Was he giving me an order?

“We take the elevator,” he said. And it did sound like an order.

“Why? It’s only one story?”

“Thomas,” he said, “when you walk into any call, but especially your first meeting with someone, you must be the absolute best version of yourself.”

I looked at him, my eyes asking, ‘and taking the elevator does this how?’

He put his hand on my shoulder, guided me to the elevator’s polished metal doors and pressed the button. “There is always a mirror in an elevator. This gives you the chance to straighten your tie and make sure you look sharp.”

Now, of course, dress codes have evolved, but back then I wore a suit and tie every day.  Now, I’d summarize my special forces colleague’s advice this way: Look professional. Look sharp. Don’t show up in a baseball cap or grungy shoes. If you’re wearing a tie make sure it’s clean and stain-free. If you wear make-up, check it to be sure it’s perfect.

But how you dress is only one part of being the best version of yourself. It includes your body language; after all, how you carry yourself affects how people see you. Are you sloppy? Or do you look sharp, polished, and professional?

The elevator chimed and the doors slid open. Pressing the button, he continued: “The first thirty seconds of any meeting is everything, Thomas. It must be flawless. You must be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be. By riding up instead of taking the stairs, you enter composed, calm, and confident. Not breathless or nervous.

“That first impression is a little thing, but if you get these small things right, the big things—like making the sale or achieving your goals for the meeting—fall into place.”

I’ve never forgotten that moment in an elevator in Australia.

And I’ve practiced it on every one of my calls and passed it on to all the reps on my teams all over the world.

I’m often asked how can something so small be so important.

I think of his point this way. In the U.S. in the 1980s when upstart Japanese carmakers began to eat the lunch of the Big Three domestic U.S. manufacturers (at the time GM, Ford, and Chrysler), one of their strategies was a relentless focus on fit and finish—tiny details like making sure seams and gaps were aligned precisely, or that paint matched perfectly. This was derided by many auto industry experts as an obsession with meaningless ‘surface’ details.

But the Japanese manufacturers understood that perfectly-aligned seams along with flawless paint showed skeptical customers that these newcomers to the U.S. automobile market obsessed over getting small details right. They reasoned that customers would deduce—correctly, as it turned out—that companies focused on making small visible details flawless would be just as focused on the things the customer couldn’t see, like the engine, electrical system, and transmission.

They were right. And the adoption of this philosophy by all manufacturers pushed one of the globe’s largest industries to much higher quality standards and with that, unparalleled financial success.

It’s what I learned from that sales meeting with the Australian Special Forces veteran. Present the absolute best version of yourself, especially in the all-important initial encounters. This cements an impression with your customer that you are on point and that you place great value on the nascent relationship.

They’ll sense that if you’re focused on getting small details as perfect as you can, you’ll also be focused on doing everything necessary to make a big deal work and that you’ll provide reliable support after the contract is signed.

Sales is hard work. This Sales Fundamental isn’t, so make it a part of your routine.

You’ll see the results.

Click here to read Sales Fundamental 1.

© Thomas Jensen 2020