We know it takes all kinds of people to make a world, and some say that we are all God’s children, but knowing that doesn’t it any easier to sell to certain types of people.
The “paralysis by analysis prospect” is a difficult one for most salespeople, for one basic reason: we want to make a sale happen as quickly as possible, and they want to analyze everything until the cows come home.
One famous sales book labeled this kind of prospect a “Seymour.” That is, they want to continue to see more information, see more data, see more analysis, see more of whatever information they can get their hands on. “Seymours” come in all forms, but often are engineers, technical people, accountants, etc. All good people, and necessary in every organization , but just sometimes more difficult to sell to.
Before we go any further, I will say there are three things you need to do to successfully sell to Seymours, and for any other type of prospect you call on for that matter:
- Treat them with respect, and don’t bullshit them.
- Give them the analysis, charts, and information they are requesting, while continuing to qualify the opportunity, and identify all the decision makers.
- Understand that “Seymours” are not really that different than other prospects.
I think # 1 is pretty self-explanatory, yet some salespeople just don’t get it. Everyone wants to be treated with respect, and if you try to be too slick or insincere, Seymours will make it even more difficult for you to make the sale than other personality types. Salespeople often view Seymours as necessary-evils to sell to, and it comes across to the Seymours that sales people aren’t really happy about dealing with them. Remember, no one likes an asshole.
As far as #2 is concerned, I would give them all the analysis, charts, and information they want, and there may actually come a time when they won’t ask for any more information. Just keep in in mind a line said in a movie starring Clint Eastwood, however: “if you are waiting for that, boy, you may be waiting a long time.”
Seymours are similar to other personality types in one way. You have to make them earn everything you give them, and you also need to keep qualifying them as to why they need that latest piece of analysis.
An old boss particularly liked a certain technique in dealing with Seymours. I remember it being called in one sales training class the “Sharp Angle Close.” That is, whenever someone asks for more information, you say: “If I give you this additional information, are you going to buy?” A necessary question, but you often won’t get a straight answer from a Seymour. They will still ask for more information.
A big mistake you can make when selling to a Seymour is thinking – and believing when they tell you – that they are the ultimate decision-maker. It may be true in rare situations, say when you are dealing with the top technical person in the organization, like the Chief Technology Officer, but Seymours are often found in the low to mid-levels in organizations.
They have the toughest job in any company if you think about it, because they often are tasked with having to gather product information from outside vendors, determine what they all really do, and separate the reality from the fantasy. As one astute sales manager once said to me: “they don’t want to deal with your sorry ass any more than you want to deal with them.”
But, more importantly, let’s talk about #3 in successfully selling to Seymours: the fact that they aren’t that much different that other types of prospects. I can remember back in college in Sociology class learning something about how all humans share similar needs – to be liked, security, friendship….I don’t remember exactly, but I think you get the point. Keep that in mind when selling to Seymours.
The bottom line is every type of prospect has to be sold differently, yet the same. At the end of the day it’s about emotion and people feeling good about working with you. Seymours will tell you it’s all about facts, charts, and analysis, and who has the best product, but they just hide their emotion more than other personality types, and actually justify it better also.
Remember what I earlier noted from a very successful sales manager: “A sale is an emotional decision based on a few facts, so you better get the emotion on your side early in the sales cycle.” Let me tell you a story that will help to illustrate this point.
I have a relative who is a Seymour, and one that frequently, as the VP of Technology for a large company, was the final decision maker on technical products from many different vendors . He would often boast to me that he had huge spreadsheets of information to evaluate which vendor offered the best solutions, and he had an extremely quantitative way to evaluate them. I would joke to him that his spreadsheets may be able to choke a “mongoose” with all the information he had in them, but much of it was wasted information. Further, I would say, if the products were close in capability, his decision would be based on which vendor and which salesperson he liked the most.
He would obviously disagree, and would go on to say that the people and the emotional part didn’t factor into his decision-making at all. It was all about the spreadsheets and his analysis.
Then one day, after he had turned 50 years old, he went out and bought a new sports car. My opportunity to hammer-home my point of view was here, and he didn’t see it coming at all.
I needed to craft a little story of my own, using his criteria for making decisions. I said to him one day: “That’s really a nice car. You know, it is interesting that I had actually had been doing my own analysis of this car recently, and I learned some pretty good information.
“Really,” he responded, inquisitively. “And what did you find out?”
“Well,” I said, keeping a straight a face as I could. “I discovered that your particular car was more expensive than other cars in it’s class. And, it cost more in repairs over the same comparative period, and it’s resale value was lower.”
“Really,” he said. “I didn’t see that.” Keep in mind my statistics were fabricated, but I wanted to make my point here.
“Interesting,” I responded. “The analysis was in last month’s “Car and Driver” magazine. I’m surprised you missed it.
“I’m surprised too,” he said. “Because I usually read it every month.”
“Let me ask you something,” I said. “What sources did you use to do your evaluation and analysis?”
“Several sources,” he said, now looking away from me, and acting a little sheepish.
“You know,”’ I said. I would be willing to bet that you didn’t do that much analysis at all. I think you just like the car. It is a pretty slick car by the way.”
Now a smile crosses his face, because I think he realized I had him on this one.
“By the way,” I mention. “I would be willing to bet that you had a car or drove a car like that at another time in your life. “
“How did you know that?,” he wonders.
“Just guessing,” I respond. “So, are you going to tell me the rest of the story.”
“The rest of what story,?” he says, acting like he didn’t know.
“The story about when you first had an experience with this car,” I retort.
“Well,” he says. “My cousin had this same model of sports car when I was in high school, and I took my first girlfriend to the prom in that car. I remember it like it was yesterday.”
“I would have never thought,” I said, and we both started to laugh about it.
Case in point. People buy on emotion, based on a few facts that they rationalize. Seymours typically, unlike Salespeople, hide their emotions pretty well. Maybe if we got to know the Seymours a little better, we might actually learn something. Scratch that thought. We salespeople know it all.
Seymours aren’t usually the decision-makers but we need to learn how to manage them better. They have personal motivations to buy as everyone else does.
Remember, we all have our jobs to do and our roles in llfe. Get in the game. It’s not personal and we still need to close that deal by the end of the quarter.