“Fossils can form in unusual ways. Small bugs or insects can become trapped in tree sap. Volcanic eruptions can form fossils when animals get trapped in the hot ash flows.”

from ScienceViews.com

(Link to video)

One of my first customer visits as a young Sales Manager was together with a Salesperson, and to his client I had not met before. Prior to the visit we had done a lot of technical work for this company substantially improving their product. Being a supplier offering this technical service, the price of our product was not the cheapest. Consequently, the customer had researched other supply sources, and as we sat down for the meeting, he told us that he could buy the same product for half the price. 

My response left my Salesperson and the no-longer customer speechless and shortened the meeting to about three minutes: I congratulated him on his new supply source, told him we would not change our price, stood up, and left. 

It was not the end of my career and a great learning experience on how to recognize and avoid traps.

1.    Be prepared: being caught off guard leads to erratic decisions. Even with a lot of experience, nothing beats preparation.

2.    Don’t take yourself too seriously: feeling the weight of the world on one’s shoulder is unnecessary. If it feels too big in the moment, ask for time and bring in others.

3.    Be persistent: Rome was not built in a day, rarely is there a need for a decision on the spot.

4.    Never say never: ignore anger, disappointment, pride, or any other hurt feeling. 

5.    The world is not black and white: especially in sales we often think of the deal/no-deal situation as black and white; when the process to get there comes in all shades of gray, aka negotiation and compromise.

6.    Avoid the Time Trap: Norman Behar recommends to not take over from the salesperson thinking it is easier or faster.

Avoid these traps and do not become a fossil.

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Norman Behar – Avoiding the Sales Management Time Trap