Many people ask, “What do you do for a living?” When I say, “I’m a sales trainer” they usually say, “Oh. So you do big events and conferences?” Well, yes, sometimes, but more importantly, I teach a process.”

Sales training is a process, not an event. If you’re not convinced, read the white paper below for some compelling viewpoints…

The Difference Between “A” Players and “B” Players

by Chris Lytle

The Interview

Julia Chang interviewed me for an article for Sales and Marketing Management. Her very first questions were, “What do you think are the key skills that separate the ‘A’ players from the ‘B’ players in sales? Conversely, what are some of the roadblocks that often keep ‘B’ players from becoming ‘A’ players?” Here is what I told her:

“A” players orchestrate the sale.  B” players accommodate the buyer.

That profoundly simple answer has enormous implica­tions. Do your salespeople orchestrate or do they accommodate? To “orchestrate” means, “to arrange or combine so as to achieve a desired or maximum effect.”

The Dinner Party

The week of that interview, Sarah McCann—my partner and wife— was orchestrating a 20th Anniversary Bash for Cindi Gerber, our first employee. On Saturday morning I called Sarah from the Phoenix airport. She was already preparing food for the Sunday evening dinner for fifty. She had scheduled kitchen help to be there at 9:00 AM and 1:00 PM. She had booked the DJ and lined up the limo to pick up Cindi. Most people would prefer to hire a caterer or make it potluck.

The Point

“A” players orchestrate a sale much like Sarah orchestrates a dinner party. They start with the image of the event they want to create (confirming the order) and arrange the steps they’ll need to take to create that event. They rely on a repeatable formula that they use with every customer. They don’t have to reinvent their sales process for every single buyer. Entertainment magazine recently profiled Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton. The reporter went to every show for two weeks and was able to break down Newton’s formula. There is the “walk of kisses,” the salute to the veterans in the audience, and the “song we didn’t rehearse.” It’s the same show night after night. That shouldn’t come as a shock. Pros follow a process that works over and over again. Pilots go through a pre-flight checklist for every takeoff. My doctor gives me the same physical every year. Sarah has a formula for putting on a dinner party. The neighborhood Christmas party had a different menu than Cindi’s party, but the basic formula does not vary.

Process Before Product

Here’s the secret that “A” players know that “B” players refuse to accept. The steps they take, the questions they ask, the things they ask for, and the order in which they do these things are the same time after time. The people change, but the formula holds fast. What keeps this from becoming boring is that it works. It works because “A” players know exactly what they are going to do and why. That way, they can totally focus on the particular person they are going to do it with. That’s where the real variety in selling occurs. And even that variety is relatively slight. All businesses have problems— and most of those problems are universal and not unique to a particular business. Still, there are nuances that make the listening interesting.

The Mysterious Mindset of the “B” Player

“B” players—for reasons that cannot be understood— believe that each sale is a brand new, uncharted under­taking. They may have heard of a sales process, but haven’t internalized one. Maybe they don’t trust theirs—or themselves—enough to follow it. As soon as the buyer objects to something or offers an alternate plan, the “B” player cannot accommodate the buyer quickly enough. Here’s an example of how “B” players accommodate the buyer: Say that the first meeting in their sales process requires them to do a demonstration in order to sufficiently impress the prospect with their solution. They want the prospect to engage with them after the demo. And let’s say that their demo takes 25 minutes from start to finish because their offering requires considerable explanation. After the 25-minute demo, they know it’s going to take at least 35 more minutes for the customer to ask them questions and for them to gather customer information and suggest the next step. They need an hour but the buyer will only give them 15 minutes. So, they immediately take the 15 minutes and cut and paste their demonstration to accommodate the prospect. They don’t try to sell the prospect on their process and why they need the time they’re asking for. “B” players allow the buyer to dictate all the terms and are at an immediate disadvantage for the rest of the relationship. “B” players don’t assert themselves up front and sell the need for a longer meeting. They don’t think, “Hey, wait a minute! I’m going to drive 60 miles to see this prospect and 60 miles home. I’m investing most of my day to meet with her.” They don’t assert themselves by saying some­thing like this: “With the price of sales calls at an all-time high, wouldn’t you want your salespeople to negotiate a longer meeting before they got in the car or hopped on a plane to see a potential customer?” That’s what an “A” player would say. But “B” players accommodate the buyer. They take the fifteen minutes, rush through their demo or ignore it all together, make a fairly weak impression and—this is what really kills me—they thank the buyer for her time at the end of the meeting when they have invested a day and the buyer has invested fifteen minutes.

The Seven Roadblocks

Julia Chang asked me two questions: “What do you think are the key skills that separate “A” players from “B” players? Conversely, what are some of the roadblocks that often keep “B” players from becoming “A” players?”

There are at least seven of them:

Roadblock 1: Not having a philosophy of selling that says you and your time are as valuable as your prospects and their time.

Roadblock 2: Having a sales manager who doesn’t hold you accountable to a process that works. This is rampant.

Roadblock 3: Fear of (1) looking scripted, (2) not doing it perfectly, (3) appearing pushy and (4) of success.

Roadblock 4: Not asking for clarification from a manager or an “A” player, but hanging out with other “B” players and commiserating about how tough things are in the field.

Roadblock 5: Lack of repetition and practice. “B” players seem to be willing to stay “B” players and are content to be good enough not to get fired.

Roadblock 6: “B” players are focused on their own insecurity, income, and problems. They don’t realize that their prospect is just as insecure and probably has at least as many problems as they do. “B” players reason that they have a problem and the customer has the money. “A” players understand that they have a solution to a problem that is costing the customer lots of money.

Roadblock 7: “B” players worry about being liked instead of being of service.

To accommodate or to orchestrate? That is the question. There is only one answer.