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I had the opportunity last week to participate in a presentation by Tom Batchelder, author of Barking Up a Dead Horse, Avoiding Wasted Time and Effort in Business-to-Business Sales. The mixed metaphor alone probably merits a mention in the AwE Blog, but it is the philosophy that caught my attention.

Tom does a nice job laying out how you can act with edge – go against the grain – and be successful. In fact, he explains how it enables you to be more successful. My goal here is not to promote yet another “new sales methodology.” However, when you see  a chapter titled, Your Ego Costs you Time and Money, you know there’s a gem in there.

Here is the basic premise.  Most people waste their own time and that of their sales victims by positioning themselves in one-down positions.  He describes this little “v” big “V”  or v | V.  The little v is you and the big V is the customer.  This creates a power dynamic that belittles the contribution you are making in the conversation.  The one-down is you and your little v.  Presumably you have some value to offer the client (e.g. deliver lower cost, better performance, unique insight) or they wouldn’t be meeting with you.  They may want to learn, get help with a tough problem or fill a gap.  Despite this fact, people often betray their own value by obsequiously pandering to potential clients.  Thus, they are one-down.  

If you are not providing value, your little v suggests that you can save everyone a lot of time by engaging elsewhere. Tom’s most interesting observations are about how easily we put ourselves into one-down positions when it is completely unnecessary.  We are overly polite and use phrases like, “thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet with me,” as if we have nothing to offer in the conversation and are so lucky to be granted an audience.  The point is not to avoid politeness or be completely unaccomodating.  It is rather that you need to act and communicate with a big V approach so you can create a V | V dynamic.  If not, you waste the time and money of  both parties.  Not exactly a win-win situation.

This theory cuts against the grain of the “customer is king” and “customer always right” mentality.  It takes a little courage to assert yourself in a sales cycle and to walk away if it is not a good fit.  It is revolutionary to some that you can go in with the perspective that you have value to offer and still avoid coming across as condescending or abrasive.  That is a nice characteristic of  Tom’s personnal style.  He embraces a philosophy of  acting with edge, but does so with a curiousity and interest that makes him a good conversationalist and not the least bit overbearing.   He is self-assured without coming off as cocky.  That is a good lesson for people that acting with edge can come in many different flavors.  

I hope you can avoid wasting time barking up dead horses by getting a little edge in your style.  

AwE