LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Don ’ t ‘ See ’ The Danger
In the recent documentary film about skateboarder Tony Hawk , Stacy Peralta ( the director who filmed many of Tony ’ s stunts ) was sharing his insights into how Tony was able to pull off some of the most difficult and dangerous tricks ever known to the world of skateboarding . He said ( paraphrased ), “ He just doesn ’ t see the danger .”
Founder And CEO , Technology Marketing Toolkit , Inc .
Robin And Skateboarding Legend Tony Hawk During The Q & A At TMT ’ s Top Tier Peer Group Event
Downhill skiers are taught to never look at or focus on the trees and obstacles , only the open path in front of them . If they focus on the trees , they ski directly into them , losing “ sight ” of the open path . It ’ s the same when you ’ re driving a car . If you take your focus off the road in front of you to look at something else , you drift , which could easily cause an accident — which is why distracted driving is the single biggest cause of accidents . This is what Stacy was talking about . Tony doesn ’ t “ see ” himself falling or failing . He doesn ’ t “ see ” the broken ribs , sprained ankles , concussions , and wipeouts . He only “ sees ” himself succeeding in the theater of his mind , literally feeling the motion in his body before he starts .
Rookie salespeople make the mistake of focusing on the wrong things all the time . They only “ see ” the objections and tiptoe carefully through a sales meeting holding their breath , hoping the prospect won ’ t bring them up . Their timidity and awkwardness then CREATE unease in the prospect , even if the prospect can ’ t articulate why they don ’ t trust the salesperson , causing them to hesitate and not buy .
If you ’ re going into a sales meeting , you need to SEE the prospect buying in the theater of your mind , agreeing to your requests , and being engaged and interested in what you ’ re presenting . If you “ see ” anything else , you ’ ll focus on that and subsequently “ drive ” into the failure .
Many MSPs only “ see ” prospects being cheap about IT spend . They ’ ve convinced themselves that EVERYONE buys on price , and subsequently , they end up pricing their services too cheap as a “ fix ,” when the real problem is that they are targeting the wrong prospects ( unqualified ) and / or have a poor sales presentation attempting to sell mediocre services .
Does this mean you ignore the downsides ? Of course not . Negative preparation is critical to success in anything . A sales rep should know the most common objections and have a plan in place for how those will be erased using pre-meeting materials and media , proper control of the sales process , good questions , great answers to common objections that are scripted , and a documented process for closing the sale . In fact , this lack of negative preparation is a BIG pet peeve of mine . Salespeople walk into sales meeting after sales meeting completely unprepared , with no process , “ hoping ” the prospect won ’ t bring up common objections . Of course , when the prospect DOES nail them with an objection ( or doesn ’ t articulate it but goes dark ), they blame the prospect , the market , the economy , the competition , the company they work for , etc . Bull .
So , yes , “ see ” the downsides and mitigate them . But when you decide to go for it , really go for it , focusing on the goal ahead , the outcome you desire , and nothing else . In my interview with Tony , he said he approached every trick knowing he had only two outcomes : Do it right , or go to the ER . Otherwise , you ’ ll never make the trick . So it goes with everything you want to accomplish : You have to see yourself achieving what you want or you ’ ll never get it . That ’ s a simple fact of life .
To see a clip of the interview I did with Tony Hawk at a TMT Producers Club Peer Group meeting , go to MSPSuccessMagazine . com / tonyQA or scan the QR code below . n
4 | MSPSuccessMagazine . com • VOLUME 4 ISSUE 3