The Salesby5 Blog

I have been a loyal Marriott customer for years. Here is a new un-selling strategy they are using:

A look at an attempt to go to their only restaurant a few minutes ago: 25 people in line, 20+ tables open and 15+ minutes to be seated! I left and went to Mel’s drive-in. “Why?” I asked the concierge. She replied, “Those poor girls have to use a computer system called Open Table to seat you, and are not allowed to just seat you! It is hard to do and they are working as fast as they can.” The general manager will hear from me later today about how they pushed over 30 people away just this morning. 94% of problems are due to poor systems. Dear Marriott, please do not have a system for the sake of having a system! Make sure your systems make sense. Restaurant seating is not science, it’s about humans!

Jenny McCarthy is teaching (selling) the need for support of autism and the need for “greening our vaccines.”  She feels her son had toxins in his vaccine that caused his autism.  Her bold fight to remove the toxins from his body has resulted in him being fine today.  She and boyfriend Jim Carrey now fight to teach (sell) others to avoid these toxins.  The point: There are people selling something every day, some worthy and others worthless.  What are you selling?  And are you selling it or un-selling it?

image from jimcarreyonline.com

Years ago an author wrote about marketing being artillery, sales being infantry and it taking both to win!

Today: You need weapons of mass persuasion, but they need not be the old fashioned “tri-fold brochure” or the “pamphlet.”  These marketing elements can be less about mailing and more about getting people to talk. Perhaps giving them a reason to talk about you or your company can be artillery and when you add masses of people focused in the same direction with this message, you have gained your infantry. I love this analogy because it solves a common problem we see; too many companies and organizations think that it is about the “sales manager/person” versus the team.  People sell people or people un-sell people.  At work or during leisurely activities, we sell or we un-sell.  Add many people doing either and you have an infantry.  Is your infantry selling or un-selling?

photo by circulating

Today we had an interesting discussion about our culture and how it has dramatically changed. We used to allow the unacceptable and in my previous business it got to the point of ridiculousness. So if you want to change it so that your people are not de-motivating (un-selling) each other, you, your customers, what do you do? Remember the flywheel Jim Collins referenced in Good to Great. Imagine a giant, heavy wheel that moves an inch after much pushing.  With continuously dedicated pushing in a consistent direction you start seeing it speed up. Finally it is spinning.

Once you have your purpose, core values, brand promise and goals and BHAG in place and the leaders are living them, the flywheel starts to move! It is not over a week, but the movement in one month can inspire.  The movement in six months will make you shudder at where you were six months ago and in a year, it is all clarity so you can focus on the vision (BHAG). It can be fun if you have a great coach or a great team pulling, pushing and providing the inspiration. Once you get to this stage, you do not get to rest or relax, you then get to make sure that everyone is realizing how each person is living that brand promise and living the company’s purpose. How cool would it be if everyone is moving in the same direction with enthusiasm?  This is similar to a rowing team. What if one person did not row in the same direction once? What if they did not row the same direction two of five days? The rowing team would not allow it, why should you?

Summary: Selling starts with an attitude and reaches success with momentum. Selling on the inside gets sales on the outside and keeps the flywheel moving.  When were things the best?  Who is rowing against the team now and how fast can you fix it?

What if you had to sell your boss, your co-workers, or your employees to earn the chance to come to work tomorrow?  So, if you did not sell each day, you would not have a job! Yes, even the CEO!

This is a real question with a real answer… You sell, or un-sell. Which are you doing? If a change is needed, how fast can you change?

I wanted take my family on an RV trip, and hoped they would like it, if not; it had no chance of happening again.  My options were to sell them or let them sell themselves. Step one; show the RV, a 39 foot diesel pusher that was new, cool, and loaded. The RV was the focus, and the RV Park was not. We had never done this before but had seen scary RV parks next to busy highways!

I have learned a few lessons in my life, and one is selling an experience that I cannot promise/guarantee is a great way to un-sell anything in the future. I then showed the ride (my only promise) and let them sell the rest to themselves!

The outcome…it was a giant hit! Expectations were met, the RV was over the top cool and we ended up river front on the Frio River with the best campsite in the park.

Next time you need to sell something you can only partially promise, focus on that.  Let the rest take care of itself.  You never know when you might stumble on a winner.

The second time I attended a Rockefeller Habits workshop (we now teach them), Verne Harnish asked us a question:

If you were to fire everyone from your company today, who would you re-hire with enthusiasm?  I came back to town and fired a few. You will be amazed, as I was, at the reactions from the other employees! The number one question from your employees or your team will be “what took so long?” Our question is how fast can you react once you realize you have the wrong people in the wrong seats.  It is simple, but it is not easy. I do not know anyone who likes to fire people. It’s not a pleasant feeling and I have done more firing than I ever wanted. What is most important to understand is that every person who needs to be free to find a new career is un-selling your company to your customers and your employees, when you hold onto them too long. The speed in which you move sells or un-sells.