I Can Cure the Common Cold!

Credit: Bill Gillespie

I loved the Beverly Hillbillies show when I was a kid. Do any of you remember that program? Granny was my favorite character. She reminded me of my own.

I wanted to use a picture of Granny for this blog but I don't have rights to one. This tribal shot of my pal Gonzo will have to do. Maybe he won't find out I used it.

My favorite episode involves Granny's claim that she can cure the common cold. She's been doing so for years back in the hills. The medical community is impressed. They ponder the possibility. A hillbilly with no medical training has cured the common cold.

A press conference is called. Granny struts to the podium dressed in her medical outfit. She leans forward and says, "stay in bed, drink lots of crick water and eat some soup. You'll be well in 10 - 12 days."

The media and doctors are crushed. They were counting on a cure. They wanted a shortcut to what everyone already knew. They wanted something that would change the rules.

I see that in sales conversations every single day. Reps/Managers are looking for recruiters to identify their talent, AI to write their letters, third parties to do their prospecting and automation to make their cold calls. Some even look for IT tools to manage service. They're looking for shortcuts.

I have opinions on tools that work and tools that are a waste but that's not the subject of this post. This post is about taking ownership of outcomes. This post is about accepting that "IF IT IS TO BE IT'S UP TO ME."

I sold printing. I never understood list buying for sales. I could walk the aisle of Home Depot or go to my mailbox and identify more people than I could ever call on. Prospecting is simple.

These days you have LinkedIn too. You can research a company, see who works there, see their position and even send them messages. You can visit company websites and see what they say about themselves. If they share shows where they present their stuff, you can attend the show.

Prospecting isn't easy but it isn't complicated either.

When you make contact, tell your story. Share examples. If the contact won't talk to you, mail them stuff. Send them case studies. Share examples of how your solution solved problems for others you're confident they face too. Once again, it requires work but it isn't a complicated mystery.

Once you earn an audience, listen. Share but learn. Your prospect will teach you everything you need to know to sell to them.

The best thing you can do to build your numbers is take ownership. Trust me. Everything and everybody is on the way someplace. Be sure you're on the way somewhere rather than nowhere. Time has a way of reminding us that we're running out of it. TIME IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE THING YOU CAN WASTE.

Now for all the Granny Sales Experts, by all means listen. Learn what you can. Decide what fits and what doesn't fit into your selling paradigm. But know there are no shortcuts. "IF YOU DON’T DO THE WORK, YOU WON’T BE SUCCESSFUL."