THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET
“What the heck you gonna shoot a silver .44 bullet at anyway?”
from Uncle Red in Silver Bullet
(Link to video)
A bullet cast from silver is often the only weapon that is effective against a werewolf, witch, vampire, or other monsters.
The term is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, penicillin was a silver bullet that cured many bacterial infections.
The story around penicillin has gotten more complex since its discovery in 1928. Many types of bacteria have developed resistance following extensive use, and around 10% of people report an allergy. Not a silver bullet (anymore).
Penicillin aside, life, in general, is way too complex to reduce anything to a magic cure-all:
For me, THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET.
What holds true in life, holds true for sales as well: “One-dimensional solutions are rarely enough to create permanent improvements in salesforce effectiveness. A salesforce is complex, with many moving parts and interdependencies. Achieving salesforce excellence or addressing a sales opportunity or challenge (such as revitalizing growth or enhancing customer retention), typically requires improving upon a mixture of several salesforce effectiveness drivers.” (HBR)
Now, there are plenty of authors who disagree:
- G.A. Bartick and Paul Bartick published a book in 2008 that shows you how to apply the silver bullet selling method to launch your sales through the roof: “Based on ten years of extensive research and interviews with thousands of top sales performers in a variety of industries, Silver Bullet Selling reveals the secrets all great sales professionals have in common.”
- Jared Houghton and HubSpot want you to believe that there is The Sales Silver Bullet Most Salespeople Don’t Know about.
- Leah Bell and Salesforce educate How to Use Content as the Silver Bullet in Sales conversations.
- Jim Hopes and The Center for Sales Strategy share A Silver Bullet Needs Analysis Question: “What else should we be talking about?”
- And Craig Elias makes the point: The Silver Bullet in Sales – Yes Virginia There is a Silver Bullet, calling out “timing – getting in front of the right buyer at exactly the right time”.
For me, THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET and Jim Logan agrees: “How cool would it be if there were a silver bullet in sales and marketing to retire quota and make lots of money? You know what I mean — the one thing we could say or do that magically makes people buy. It would be cool, but it doesn’t exist. And we couldn’t afford to buy it if it did.”
It is similar to the discussion about the value of a lead. If a lead was a sure sell, the price would have to be similar to the margin of the product. But there are no shortcuts in sales.
What produces success in sales? Working hard and smart. Following a process. Using data. Being persistent. Win fast, lose faster. Multiple channels. A lot of blocking and tackling.
In addition, there is a serious downside in searching for a silver bullet, and in following those who claim to have one: salespeople stop using the tools they hold in hand, like a repeatable process. They waste time in search of a magic tool that does not exist.
THERE IS NO SILVER BULLET.
Talk to us about how interim or fractional sales leadership can help your business.
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Jared Houghton – The Sales Silver Bullet Most Salespeople Don’t Know About
Leah Bell – How to Use Content as the Silver Bullet in Sales
Jim Logan – There is No Silver Bullet to Sales and Marketing Success
HBR – Silver Bullets Won’t Fix Your Sales Force
Jim Hopes - A Silver Bullet Needs Analysis Question
Craig Elias - The Silver Bullet in Sales – Yes Virginia There is a Silver Bullet