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I'm not a good surfer, but I can ride a wave on a big board and not hurt too many people in the process. Sitting in my office in cold, foggy San Francisco upon our return from Sayulita, Mexico, my thoughts kept returning to the line-up, bobbing out in the water, waiting for the next set to roll in. And I realized (though this may be a bit of a stretch) that there is a lot that you can learn from surfing that will help you in Sales.
So here go the Seven Surfing-Selling Strategies:
1. Go to where the waves are right for you.
Sayulita has warm water and small, slow waves, perfect for a hack like myself. I have no business paddling out in big surf and don't really want to spend hours in 54-degree water.
Selling lesson: Position yourself in an industry and company that fits your personality, aptitude and skill-set. The best sales skills won’t get you far if you are in the wrong place.
2. Use the right equipment. Nobody was catching the really big waves at Mavericks until they started towing people in behind jet skis. I only surf on long boards, as they are easier. You don't want to surf in cold water without a wetsuit.
Selling lesson: Be prepared. Have the right CRM system, sales tracking system, headset and technology at your disposal to be an efficient selling machine.
3. Position yourself well. If you're too far inside the breaking waves, you'll get crushed. If you're too far out, you'll never catch them. The people who catch the most waves are the ones that paddle to the wave instead of waiting for it to come to them.
Selling lesson: Put yourself in a position where it's easy for your customers to do business with you. Get on their radar regularly giving value, newsletters, ideas, gifts and invitations.
4. Choose your waves carefully. You can exhaust yourself and get beat up going after every ripple in the ocean. On the other hand, don't be too selective, or you will spend all of your time waiting and very little time surfing. Have patience, and when you see your wave, go like hell.
Selling lesson: Decide which prospects you should continue to pursue and which ones are a waste of your valuable time. All prospects are not equal, so choose carefully.
5. Paddle hard to catch the waves. One of the reasons the good surfers catch so many waves is that they paddle furiously to catch them.
Selling lesson: If you have a good, qualified prospect, go after them with all you have. Assume that they won't call back, and go on the offensive - in a gently persistent way, of course.
6. When you finally catch a wave, stand up and enjoy it. This is why you go through all the abuse of paddling out through the waves, swallowing seawater and dealing with the bruises and scrapes.
Selling lesson: Celebrate your sales. Spend some money, pat yourself on the back, brag about your work (especially to your manager).
7. You're never more fired up than when you've had a great ride. Every time I said to myself, "Just one more good wave," I'd find myself paddling back out to catch just one more.
Selling lesson: There's never a better time to make a sales call than after you have made a sale. Celebrate your success; then get right back on the phone while you are still hot, confident and feeling it and make another call.
Dropping In
Despite all of the above similarities between selling and surfing, there is one major difference: Dropping In.
In surfing, if someone catches the wave first and you get on the same wave, it's called "dropping in." Dropping in on someone can be dangerous and is quite frowned upon. It is often answered by epithets, strong suggestions that you return to the beach and fisticuffs.
Selling lesson: In sales, you're allowed - even encouraged - to drop in. Though you should still endeavor not to make enemies, you should NEVER let the fact that your competition is going after the same prospect deter your efforts. Drop in, snag the wave, and ride it all the way to the beach!
Robert Graham
Robert Graham is the Principal of GrahamComm, LLC (www.grahamcomm.net), a consulting and training company that helps clients increase their sales and deliver outstanding presentations. He can be reached at 415-652-0763 or Robert@grahamcomm.net.
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