I once met a sales master at a triathlon.

He wasn’t your stereotypical salesperson.

He was relaxed.
Laid back.
Chill.

Here’s the story.

I was at the Ironman Santa Rosa triathlon in California.

The event had hundreds of vendor booths packed in a labyrinth of aisles.

If you locked eyes with a salesperson for more than two seconds, they would immediately say stereotypical things like:
“How are you doing today?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“We’ve got a special today. 15% off.”

You could smell their commission breath :-)

After ducking and dodging numerous salespeople, a message at a booth caught my eye:

“Eliminate gels, bars, and salt pills.”

The company was Infinit Nutrition. An athletic-looking forty-something-year-old man was relaxing behind the display table.

I approached. He nodded.

After I glanced at the product for a few moments, he said:
“Are you familiar with Infinit?”

With one killer question, the salesperson understood how knowledgeable I was about the product. This matters because you sell to a knowledgeable person differently than an unknowledgeable person.

Here's how the conversation went:
“Never heard of it.”
“What are you currently using for nutrition?”
"I'm using BASE salt, Scratch nutrition, and Gu gels.”
“Can I share a different perspective?”
”Sure.”

“We know that no two triathletes are the same. Just like no two sports are the same. So how can one formula work for someone who’s 200 pounds doing an Olympic and someone who is 160 pounds doing an Ironman?”

“That’s a good question. Never thought about that.”
“Have you heard of custom nutrition?”
“What’s that?”
“It is a formula specific to your event, body size, and gender made just for you. No more gels, pills, or bars.”
“How does it work?”

A few minutes later, I took out my credit card.

The takeaway?

Good selling feels more like a smooth ballroom waltz than wrestling.
The seller moves with rather than against the person.
​
There’s no pinning down an adversary.
The seller is leading without stepping on any toes.
​
Master salespeople know that without a partner, this is no dance :-)

The takeaway?

It’s not your job to fill your prospect’s head with information. Your job is to draw it out. Some people will want to dance with you. Some won’t.

People don’t buy because they understand you. They buy because you know them.

Shameless plug: Here are some ways you can get better at selling:

​Tongue Tied Objection Flashcards. Objection on the front, what to say on the back. Includes how-to-say-it audio files, digital + physical flashcards, video lectures, and real cold calls. ​Buy here​.

​Poke the Bear Cold Calling. Talking with people who have very little desire to talk with you. ​Learn more​.

​The Badass B2B Growth Guide: This guide is filled to the brim with tactics that stack the odds in your favor for grabbing people’s attention and keeping it.