I saw a clip recently of a 100-year-old man saying these simple words: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, today a gift.”
It was a touching video, and it got me thinking about time, and about how we move through time in a complex sale… and how often we are not in the present when we’re working in sales.
And wondering: What if we were? Would that be a good thing?
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that everything that matters in a complex sale is in the present moment. And when we are straining our attention to the future, or worrying about the past, we often miss the most important things–the things that win the deal.
When you are present in the now, instead of racing ahead to the end, you can go deeper into this moment, this conversation, the complexity of this opportunity.
By staying present in the now, we can get deeper and deeper and, ultimately, change the trajectory of the future.
Here’s what happens when you stay present in the now while working a complex B2B deal:
Often, salespeople get stuck focusing on the future and the potential of a deal, and they jump ahead mentally, leaving the person in front of them behind in the moment. They jump to making a presentation, demonstrating features, assuming that what the listener wants is what they have.
On the other side, salespeople who stay present in the moment actually hear what the buyer is telling them. They empathize with their problems, understand their goals, and help them understand where they are, not where they hope they are.
A salesperson who is dreaming of the future, is a salesperson who will miss critical details. Like the fact that the person in front of them is not the only person who matters in the deal. If the salesperson already sees themselves signing a contract with this one person, sees themselves proudly announcing their win…
They won’t see that the person in front of them is part of a larger system, a system that is likely to have more say in the final decision than this one person realizes. A salesperson who stays present, however, does not assume a sale, does not assume anything. They ask probing questions, they listen to the answers, they discover who the relevant people are–and then they get access to them.
One of the most important tasks in a complex sale is to get every stakeholder on the same page, a shared mental model. When everyone agrees within themselves what the problem is, the stakes, the impact, and a path to a solution, the sale becomes practically a foregone conclusion.
On the other side, a salesperson who is busily counting up their commission in their head, isn’t present with where the stakeholder on the other end of the line currently is. That stakeholder is not dreaming about the salesperson’s commission. They’re forming a mental model of the problem and potential solution.
The salesperson who wins is the salesperson who understands that and stays present long enough to help them develop a healthy model, one that aligns with other stakeholders, and gets the job done.
When the stakeholder in front of you feels heard, understood, and confident in a shared mental model, you’re one step closer to the win. When every single relevant stakeholder has felt heard, understood, and confident in that same shared mental model? You’ve already won.
Being present in the moment means you can answer questions about risks, help them handle their hurdles, address relevant possibilities, and align them with a shared vision that works for everyone. Focusing on NOW builds a better future.
“The present is a gift” isn’t just a cute saying from an old turtle. It’s a deep truth about the world, and an important truth about complex sales. Every moment is full of depth, including the memories we have of the past, the hopes we have for the future, and the reality of this exact moment. By staying present in what is happening right now, we can get deeper and deeper and, ultimately, change the trajectory of the future.
And make the sale.
What do you think? Are your salespeople staying present, or are they leaping ahead or worrying about the past? How do we get them to stay in the present?
PS: Dreamwork fans might remember this clip from Kung Fu Panda :)
George is the founder & CEO of Membrain, the Sales Enablement CRM that makes it easy to execute your sales strategy. A life-long entrepreneur with 20 years of experience in the software space and a passion for sales and marketing. With the life motto "Don't settle for mainstream", he is always looking for new ways to achieve improved business results using innovative software, skills, and processes. George is also the author of the book Stop Killing Deals and the host of the Stop Killing Deals webinar and podcast series.
Find out more about George Brontén on LinkedIn
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