Consult the Bones

Salespeople are not wise to the ways of great sorcerers and for that we can all be thankful. Sorcerers are known for exotic blends, flash powder, potent broths and a willingness to pluck the eyes out of living things. Sorcerers spend an inordinate amount of time consulting the bones, looking to see what the future holds - which usually ends up about half-right. There's every reason to believe that consulting those dried up old bones might be about as successful as the "winging it" strategy employed by many sales amateurs. Consulting the bones was the process an oracle would use concerning such matters as weather, war, travel and luck. Great salespeople, sans the magic wand, employ a process too: they use a process that will take out guesswork, eliminate intellectual smokescreens, and enable decisions to be made. Consulting the bones may be parallel to that which salespeople could implement. For example, we might "consult the bones" to determine motivation. Or we could use it to devise a pre-call plan or post-call debriefing strategy. Perhaps consulting the bones during the hiring process would eliminate the gut-instinct decisions that end with the expense of failed candidates. But most importantly, it could become the metaphor for an incredible selling system. A disciplined selling system has the full blown power of magic. It gives us the ingredients and control to grow with success. And yet, well executed, it requires no flash and no powder. And fortunately, the only eyes needed are the ones that can see, hear and feel the prospect's pain. A cauldron of boiling newt and a toss of the bones might get you noticed--but a systematic selling process will take you to the bank