The Salesperson’s Secret Code
Research that was conducted was based on survey regarding motivation of salespeople. In 2015 the research included 90 minutes interview with more than 1.000 salespeople.
This latest exercise revealed five core, or foundational, beliefs held by all the salespeople we interviewed. After some consideration, authors decided to call these five beliefs Destination Beliefs. They are Fulfilment, Control, Resilience, Influence and Communication.
For each Destination Belief our interviewees described a wide array of attitudes towards the belief. These were the ten sub-beliefs. Authors called the sub-beliefs Journey Motivators. Journey Motivators send us down a particular track; they demonstrate how we respond to what happens to us on the journey.
John Maxwell says, your attitude is “the librarian of your past, the speaker of your present and the prophet of your future.”
- Fulfilment is the first component. It’s state of satisfaction that comes from knowing you’ve either achieved, or you are on track to shift performance from good to better, to best.
- Control is the next component. High performers believe in having a plan, and regularly evaluate where they want to be, where they are, and what the gap is.
- Resilience comes next. It is connected to Control in that it represents your ability to bounce back from setbacks and get back on track.
- Influence is the fourth piece in this jigsaw puzzle. As a sales professional, you need to gain influence with people in the customer organization to open doors, get on the calendar, gain stakeholder support and win business.
- Communication is the fifth piece of the puzzle. You can never over-communicate with your colleagues or with a customer. Speed and clarity are key.
Try thinking of every communication as a three-party story. You need an attention-grabbing headline, a reason it matters and a call to action.
Salespeople spend their lives on a journey towards objectives, sales goals and sales targets – it’s in their DNA. The routes that salespeople take on the journey towards their destination are different. Authors research identified that what separates top performers from the lower performers is how those destination beliefs are interpreted and synthesized internally.
Iconics
Authors selected ten “iconic” individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds, with different experiences and narratives. They ask them: What high performer look like to them? What do you want people to learn from your experience?
Chuck Pol chaired Vodafone US Board of Directors.
- High performers are available to the client. They deliver on their promises, listen effectively and they are prepared.
- People should be prepared to step up and lead in good and bad times, and handle the management of change.
Colleen Schuller from GSK.
- You take pride in exceeding your targets and increase market share faster than the competition.
- Be a learner, as well as a role model to others.
Erica Feidner the best Steinway presentative. She was named in 2011 one of the ten greatest salespeople of all time.
- The point is to do the right thing, every single time. It’s about integrity.
- I don’t sell pianos. I sell inspiration.
Louis Jordan, KPMG and Deloitte.
- They are utterly reliable and always deliver to the client need.
- Be in business with your client; seek to align your interests.
Dilip Mailvaganam from Microsoft.
- Today it’s no longer just about making revenue. It’s about knowing what impact you’re having on your customer’s business.
- You should try to work with as many different people as you can, and not try to do it all yourself.
Justin Stone, J.P. Morgan.
- You’re always finding ways to hone your craft. Make sure everything you do is first rate.
- Make sure you’re acting, not reacting. Less is more.
Phil Benton from Adidas.
- High performers are the quiet achievers who just get on with the job and deliver.
- The sales environment is entrepreneurial by nature, so even if you have processes and strategies as guides, be prepared to innovate and pivot to where customers want to go.
Claire Edmonds from Clarify.
- Someone who is hungry to do the right thing.
- Being able to maintain momentum is very important.
Harriet Taylor, Oracle.
- You aren’t afraid to fall. Unless you tell yourself you’ve already peaked, you can keep improving forever.
- If you really push yourself to work smart, you will achieve great things that you never thought were possible.
Iris Schoenmakers from Cisco.
- Someone who has an intrinsic drive to always do great, regardless of the activity.
- Use what you know about your own strengths, embrace every challenge and make your journey as a professional unique to you.
Fulfilment
Destination Belief is: “I am most fulfilled when I am successful.” (Fulfilment)
- Journey Motivator 1: I must win because I fear failure (Fear).
- Journey Motivator 2: I want to be better than I thought I could ever be (Desire).
100 % of high-performing salespeople are driven by Journey Motivator 2 more intensely than Journey Motivator 1. Authors research found that the optimum position for the Fulfilment Destination Belief is 62 % Desire and 38 % Fear. The belief system of the top 5 % is fiercely pragmatic. They tap into fear like it’s rocket fuel.
Fear Journey Motivator
Atychiphobia is a word that originates from ancient Greek. Atyches means unfortunate and phobos means fear. It is the emotion that compels you to push your limits and endure discomfort because of a negative consequence if you don’t. the emotion is not about what good you gain, but what bad you avoid. It is sometimes called a “burning platform”.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Decisive/Unwavering
- Self-starter/Independent
- Commanding/Irresistible
- Obstinate/Firm
- Competitive/Winning mind-set
Fear drives the majority (56%) of low-performing salespeople.
Our attitudes shape our character. Our character shapes our actions. Our actions shape what we achieve. Another way of saying this: “Attitudes determines altitude.”
The truth is, if you can’t picture yourself achieving a goal, chances are you won’t.
Many low-performing salespeople are practiced in the art of self-deception. Many low-performing salespeople, it seems, may be afraid of accountability. Failure is a faceless concept with no identity. A fear-averse attitude kills creativity and atrophies the muscles needed to push boundaries. Failure is delay, not defeat.
80% of sales require five follow-up calls, yet 92% of salespeople give up on a prospect within four rejections and 44% abandon the pursuit after just one.
Failure is fine if it isn’t used as an excuse for mediocrity.
Desire Journey Motivator
Inferiority Complex paints success as something only other people can enjoy. It’s self-limiting.
The very bottom 5% of low-performers don’t act like low-performers at all, but as an extreme version of high-performers. In the HBR Hill, Mellon, Laker and Goddard wrote about this kind of executives in 2016. They called them Surgeons. They are both decisive and incisive. They break rules. They only focus on here and now. They may talk a good game, but cause more problems than they solve.
It seems that the key to success is moderation, just enough desire, and just enough fear.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Enthusiastic/Optimistic
- Fun-loving/Humorous
- Sense of adventure/Thrill of the unknown
- Energetic/Thriving
- Competitive/Winning mind-set
Top sellers have private passions too. Passion is what gets high-performers out of their beds every morning. Fear gets the low-performers out of bed every morning.
Control
Destination Belief is: “Someone or something must always be accountable for success.” (Control)
- Journey Motivator 1: There is only so much I can control (Victim).
- Journey Motivator 2: I am ultimately responsible for my own destiny (Hero).
The top-performers display strong personal accountability for success and failure, and seldom shift blame. Journey Motivator 1 asserts that not every outcome can be guaranteed. It holds that there is only so much I can control. Journey Motivator 2 for Control reveals full ownership and accountability for results. It reads: I am ultimately responsible for my own destiny.
Every high-performing salesperson held the Hero Journey Motivator more intensely than the Victim Journey Motivator. The optimum position for the Control Destination Belief is 78% internal responsibility and 22% external responsibility.
Victim Journey Motivator
The words “wrong” and “can’t” reveal a fixed mind-set, where failure is a fait accompli.
Misery loves company. So, it is common for these victims to confess their frustrations of hopelessness to colleagues, lacing their tales of woe with just enough authenticity that others may begin to question if they are affected by the same so-called “deficiencies” in the company’s systems, procedures or management techniques.
Most low-performers don’t even know they are low-performers.
Charles Darwin noted in 1871: “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge.”[1]
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Eager/Impatient
- Aggressive
- Forceful character/Powerful
- Optimistic
- Daring/Gutsy
These people are decisive, task-oriented individuals with high optimism and personality.
Beliefs shape awareness, which molds ambition, which colors motivation, which sculpts attitude, which affects behavior, which encourages learning, which informs skill, which drives action, which determine results.
We found a 100% match between salespeople who hold the Fear Journey Motivator and those who hold the Victim Journey Motivator.
Hero Journey Motivator
100% of high-performing salespeople hold the Hero Journey Motivator. 100% of these same salespeople also hold the Desire Journey Motivator.
Authors saw a pattern of behavior that could be summarized in the following three points:
- Engaging with what they want to control or master.
- Effecting change in their circumstances and environment through actively influencing outcomes.
- Evolving new mind-sets and behaviors to set them-selves up for future success.
The high-performers seek to change the world and are prepared to be changed by the world. Salespeople with a growth mind-set see any challenge as an opportunity.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Convincing/Assuring
- Persistent/Unrelenting
- Self-reliant/Independent
- Kind/Giving
- Critical thinker
Top-performers categorically believe they are responsible for their own success.
As Nike said in their story, while heroes are “not easily defeated, they are far from invincible”. “Luck is the last dying wish of those who want to believe that winning can happen by accident. Sweat on the other hand is for those who know it’s a choice.”
Low-performers tend to use sales language that focuses on nuts-and-bolts tactical inputs like effort, activity, hours or cost. High-performers speak the language of strategic outputs, like revenue, margin, value, share of wallet and return on investment.
Attribution theory is concerned with our interpretation of events.
Resilience
Destination Belief is: “Facing challenges and adversity are simply fact of life.” (Resilience)
- Journey Motivator 1: In the face of challenge, I work even harder and win through. (Work Hard)
- Journey Motivator 2: I use moments of adversity to find new and creative ways to achieve goals. (Work Smart)
Resilience is about how you withstand the impact of work and life events, including adversity, and your ability to get back on your feet again.
Resilience may be one of the most important cornerstones in our ability to navigate the new world we face.
The key to building resilience is to incorporate strategic recovery in your life.
Authors found that every high-performing salesperson held the Work Smart sub-belief more intensely than Work Hard. The optimal position for Resilience is 59% Work Smart and 41% Work Hard.
Work Hard Journey Motivator
Success comes after powering through adversity and rejection. 91% of low-performing salespeople said they believed they had to work harder to win their deals. Only 14% of high-performing salespeople were found to have similar beliefs.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Persistent/Unrelenting
- Outspoken/Free-speaking
- Strong-willed/Forceful
- Brave/Fearless
- Stubborn/Immoveable
Work Smart Journey Motivator
A significant differentiator of high-performing salespeople is that they use moments of adversity to find new, creative ways to achieve their goals. Authors found that 86% of high-performing salespeople fall into this group.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Expressive
- Decisive/Firm
- Even-tempered/Calm
- Restless/Moving
- Strong-willed/Forceful
Salespeople who use moments of adversity to find new and creative ways to achieve goals are more successful, more of the time.
Four tips for boosting personal resilience:
- Use Stress to Your Advantage
- Make Recover Time a Priority
- Differentiate Ongoing Stress from Occasional Stress
- Reframe How You Think About Failure
Most of us are familiar with the experience of silently speaking to ourselves in our head. This is a phenomenon psychologists call ‘inner speech’.
Share your problems and draw from your wins.
Here are five ways salespeople and leaders can create an environment where smart has a better chance of winning the day:
- Be realistic – recognize a “threat” earlier.
- Manage your emotional state.
- Identify the “good intent” in your current difficulties.
- Share your pain.
- Look after yourself more than ever.
Which are you: potato, egg or coffee?
The potatoes, the eggs and the coffee beans had all faced the same challenge – the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.
The potato went in strong, hard an unrelenting, but in boiling water it became soft and weak.
The egg was fragile, with the shell protecting its soft inside until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside became hardened.
However, the ground coffee beans were different. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water. They created something new and entirely different.
Influence
Destination Belief is: “Successful salespeople are influential.” (Influence)
- Journey Motivator 1: The stronger I am, the more I can influence. (Gorilla)
- Journey Motivator 2: The more flexible I am, the more I can influence. (Guerilla)
Every salesperson we spoke to in our research believes successful salespeople use influence and persuasion to open doors, collect information and gain commitment. They persuade prospects to see a need they didn’t recognize before, to feel the urge to act quickly, and to have a preference of supplier.
Gorilla Journey Motivator is that influence is achieved through Formal Means. Guerilla Journey Motivator is that influence is achieved through Informal means.
Guerilla salespeople network low as well as high.
In order to connect with people of influence in the customer organization, salespeople need to be seen as a person of influence in their own organization and beyond.
Author’s research found that top salespeople are driven by both Journey Motivator, but Guerilla influence is applied three times more frequently than Gorilla power when the top-performers are out selling. The optimal position for Influence is 74% Guerilla and 26% Gorilla.
Gorilla Journey Motivator
The aimed to get their brief from the highest-ranking customer contact, and then work down from the top.
Salespeople who live by this Journey Motivator know their subject matter backwards. They are product experts and business issues gurus.
This Journey Motivator is rooted in an appreciation if the power of persuasion, and manifests itself as passion for the product or service being sold. 56% of salespeople who embrace this Journey Motivator with a high intensity are low-performers. This finding is a bombshell because it seems to contradict several decades of modern sales training that has sought to teach business-to-business (B2B) salespeople to ask better questions, to help the customer connect the dots. Too many salespeople still come across as dogmatic and manipulative.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Aggressive/Challenger
- Persistent/Tenacious
- Daring/Risk-taker
- Unbeatable/Determined
- Unwavering/Firm
Great salespeople can persuade others because they have first persuaded themselves that their offering holds utility, is of value, and is superior to competitors’ solutions. Too much self-persuasion can make a salesperson blind and deaf to the customer’s actual situation making them a zealot.
By cross-referencing other areas of The Secret Code, we learned that salespeople who behave this way also have a high fear of failure.
Article in HBR (study of University of Bath and Cranfield School of Management) identified four types of salespersons. Each type uses Gorilla and Guerilla sales behaviors in different ways.
- 24% of salespeople are Masters. Of these, 100% of them drive next steps, and 84% ask for the sale.
- 39% of salespeople are Closers, 94% of them drive next steps, and 62% ask for sale.
- 22% of salespeople are Narrators. 65% of them drive next steps, but only 36% ask for the sale.
- 15% of salespeople are Socializers. Only 33% drive next steps, and only 27% ever ask for the sale.
Guerilla Journey Motivator
High-performing salespeople believe influence is not about imposing their will on the customer. This also means not every customer is the right fit for your as a seller. Guerillas can handle this level of adaptation. Gorillas won’t, or can’t.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Respectful/Empathetic
- Compassionate/Understanding
- Persuasive/Convincing
- Charming/Magnetic
- Sociable/Humorous
You have to do three things that are favorable to a counterpart before your even have the right to ask for a favor or opportunity to discuss business to some degree.
Another approach top sellers are using to build influence with customers is the application of social media.
Industry observer have noted a decline in the effectiveness of outbound B2B sales calls, when it may take 18 or more calls to connect to a new prospect, and only 24% of outbound emails are being opened by intended recipient. At the same time, 84% of B2B customers now commerce their purchasing process via referral, with peer recommendations influencing more than 90% of buying decisions. This represents a great disconnection of salespeople from buyers.
Entertain and inform your audience 80%, and sell to them 20%.
Customers allow themselves to be influenced by people they like and trust.
Influencers spend their time, emotion and energy focused on the things they can do something about. When they are solving an obstacle, they can break them into four categories:
- What they can solve with their ability (self-sufficiency).
- What they might change through favor of another (asking for help).
- What they might do by combining resources with people (partnership).
- What can’t be changed (force majeure).
Communication
Destination Belief is: “Successful people know best how to communicate.” (Communication).
Journey Motivator 1: Great communication is about getting your message across clearly and succinctly. (Lightning)
Journey Motivator 2: Great communication is about developing continuous and meaningful dialogue. (Thunder)
Aristotle was particularly fascinated by rhetoric – the art of persuasive speaking and writing. In his study in the book On Rhetoric, he identified three elements of persuasive communication: ethos, pathos and logos.
- Ethos is Greek for ‘character’. You generate ethos by choosing language appropriate for the audience, employing correct grammar and exuding professionalism.
- Pathos is Greek for ‘feeling’. Great speeches and sales pitches build pathos by using light and shade – fast and loud words to convey the excitement of moving forward to achieve one’s hopes and dreams (light), and slow whispers or dramatic pauses to drive home why maintaining the status quo is unattractive (shade).
- Logos is Greek for ‘reason’. This is where you pitch a proposal using data, charts, percentages, case studies and expert testimony, so the audience is persuaded that your reasoning is irrefutable.
You sell to the gut, the heart and then the brain – in that order.
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet W.H. Auden: “The ear tends to be lazy, craves the familiar and is shocked by the unexpected; the eye, on the other hand, tends to be impatient, craves the novel and is bored by repetition.”
Top performers believe it’s more important to deliver a constant rumble of formal and informal two-way communication to customers (Thunder) than it is to give the occasional pitch-perfect, one-way flash (Lightning). They balance the two, making sure their prospects and customers hear their thunder 79% of the time, with lightning striking 21% of the time.
Lightning Journey Motivator
Just like a lightning strike, the customer feels this type of communication is unpredictable. It’s where you hit your prospects with a campaign or pitch that arrives ‘out of the blue’.
The danger with this approach is that it starts with talking about yourself – and some salespeople don’t know when to stop.
By cross-referencing other pieces of the code, we saw that a majority of this group are the same people who fear failure.
This pitch-and-run approach is tragic when you examine sales statistic. An average sales conversation will see the prospect evade commitment eight times before finally agreeing to buy.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Unbeatable/Determined
- Vigorous/Energetic
- Bold/Courageous
- Outspoken/Free-speaking
- Challenging/Assertive
In industries where the product is simple and in demand, and where customers can self-educate before placing an order, the seller’s role is almost wholly administrative and centered on processing the paperwork.
Analyst at McKinsey & Company offer this observation: Gone are the days when the same sales representative could offer all products to all buyers. Customers are pressuring their suppliers to bring the full depth of expertise to every sale.
Helping staff feel they are fit-for-purpose and not deficient is key to having a productive and motivated workforce. This begins with having different, accurate job descriptions for different sales roles, and aligning measurement and remuneration correctly.
Thunder Journey Motivator
High-performers have continuous, meaningful and adaptive dialogue with their customers.
Most frequently observed behaviors:
- Sociable/Companionable
- Generous/Sharing
- Challenging
- Charming/Magnetic
- Inspiring/Motivating
The Thunder sellers listen to customers far more than the Lightning strikers. Thunder sellers are much more curious; they ask better questions as a consequence of their enquiring minds and genuine interest in the other party.
American business book author Keith Rosen suggests there are eight mistakes that limit our ability to listen:
- Are you thinking about something else while the client is talking? (Dreaming)
- During your conversation with a client, do you wait for a pause, so you can spit something out? (Answer-preparing)
- How difficult is it for you to stay quiet? Do you say something without thinking first? (Compulsive/impulsive)
- Are you faking your listening to the client just so you can get in your comments? (Ambushing)
- Do you practice selective listening? Do you only hear the things you want to hear based upon your own prejudices? (Judging)
- Are you unaware of the message the person is sending through body language, such as facial expressions, eye contact and vocal intonation? (Not fully present)
- Do you allow background noise in your environment to hinder your ability to listen? (Noise-induced stress)
- Do you listen through filters, based on a past experience or a similar situation with another client? (Comparing)
As Oliver Wendel Holmer Sr. wrote: “It is the province of knowledge to speak and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.”[2]
High-performers believe they should start each discussion in a state of ‘unknowing’. Theirs is an empty cup waiting to be filled, not a full cup waiting to be emptied.
Research shows that in any presentation, 63% of people remember the stories while only 5% remember the statistics.
Successful communication needs to flow both ways. In doing so it creates continuous and meaningful dialogue over long distances which provides more energy.
Unlocking you code
The delta between your current motivation balance and the optimum motivation balance represents the site of the shift in your beliefs and motivations which may be necessary if you want to align with the best-of-the-best.
Many great thinkers and creators have found that the best ideas are ones that are ‘stolen and improved’. When we adopt some of the behaviors other people display, we call it ‘modelling’. The list of people you will have modelled in your life is sure to be considerable.
How to Model in 6 steps:
- Focus on one specific aspect of what you observe in someone that you want to acquire for yourself. Step 1 is about ‘What’ and ‘Who’ and ‘Wow!’.
- Watch then, watch them work. Step 2 is about watching the ‘How’.
- Ask them. Step 3 is about ‘Ask’.
- Reflect upon what you have learned from your observations and your conservations. Then, step into your model’s shoes, leaving behind any preconceptions you may hold. Step 4 is about ‘Do’.
- As you adopt the behaviors of your model, see what aspects of what you are doing make a difference to you. Step 5 is about ‘Evaluate’.
- Make a note of the process, behavior, language pattern – whatever it is that you have modelled. Absorb the model, allow it to become your identity. Step 6 is about ‘Adapt and Adopt’.
Beliefs are emotionally held opinions that we assume to be fact. Beliefs provide us with the motivation to deploy certain talents or skills. They may promote or inhibit certain behaviors.
It was Sir Winston Churchill who said: “To improve is to change. To be perfect is to change often.”[3]
The Secret Code – lessons in management & leadership
Three areas to consider are:
- What is the Salesperson’s Secret Code?
- What is the distance between my team’s individual motivation balance and the optimum motivation balance demonstrated by the top 5%.
- In the light of insights provided by the psychometric what adjustments will each salesperson make to their beliefs and behaviors which will have the effect of changing the ‘direction of travel’ they are on currently.
Creating the environment which is most conducive to your salespeople’s success is directly connected to assisting arrival at the Destination Beliefs and the optimal intensity of Journey Motivators.
There is no failure, only feedback.
Someone or something must always be accountable for success.
You can never have a monopoly on wisdom; and, when the tough times come, having encouraged and environment where ideas and creativity are valued, you and those around you will be best placed to pull together and navigate the way through choppy waters.
Teach people when to stand firm, when to bend and when to say ‘No’. support their choices.
Walking the talk is about being that Guerilla with a voice that rumbles like Thunder.
The meaning of communication is the effect it has, not the intent or desire by which it is sent.
Top performers:
- Fear failure, but who use that fear to challenge them-selves to be the best they can possible be.
- Don’t dwell on what they cannot control, but instead make things happen to their own and their customers benefit.
- Work hard to get through tough times, but are always looking to manage their stress and the energy they expend through working smarter.
- Know that they possess the power to influence others and temper this with a flexible approach in order to bring others with them.
- Understand intimately their product or service offering and communicate their expertise appropriately through continuous and dynamic dialogue.
Alignment to 6 attitudes
Eduard Spranger described in his Types of Men 6 attitudes of men. They are:
- Theoretical
- Utilitarian
- Aesthetic
- Social
- Individualistic
- Traditional
Salespeople with a dominant Theoretical motivation seek knowledge for its own sake. They can process vas and diverse sources of information, see patterns quickly, and enjoy showing their intellectual prowess.
Salespeople with a dominant Utilitarian motivation are capitalist who seek what is useful or practical.
Salespeople with a dominant Aesthetic motivation seek new experiences and self-expression. Often non-conformists, they seek to experience new things.
Salespeople with a dominant Social motivation seek to eliminate conflict.
Salespeople with a dominant Individualistic motivation seek to assert themselves. They focus on advancement of position and power for themselves or their company.
Salespeople with a dominant Traditional motivation want to understand their meaning or role in the scheme of things, and seek structure to achieve goals “the right way”. They can hold on to tradition for too long, and don’t always deal with change well.
[1] In the book on page 97
[2] In the book on page 215
[3] In the book on page 243
