The Tribune

MARKETING REVOLUTION

By D’Arcy Rahming

Whether we like it or not, we are all salesmen. Most of the time, people associate that title with selling a product or service. However, whenever we are trying to convince someone to see the merit in an idea, we are in fact selling. This was the position I often found myself in when trying to convince a team of people to co-operate in the corporate world. In the mid-1990s I was a technical manager at a major multinational company in the US. I was mostly selling ideas to committees.

Since then, as an independent consultant I have often had to sell physical objects to committees. Selling is hard enough already; convincing a group can be a nightmare. It seems that one naysayer can turn the tide on an argument. This is particularly disturbing if you were counting on winning this argument to pay the mortgage next month.

I learned a lot from those days as a technical manager. When I first started out, within a few months my job was in jeopardy. I was ranked near the bottom of my position. This was because I was either too timid with my ideas or too aggressive. Either of which means failure. I noticed that some committee members found me too timid at first, so they knew that my ideas lacked confidence. Then I tried to overcompensate by being very aggressive. Let’s just say this was not a great idea for me at that time in America’s history.

So I learned, If we had eight people planned for the meeting I began to use the concept of ‘the meeting before the meeting’. In my case it was at least eight meetings before the meetings. Selling is largely about overcoming objections. So I had to listen very carefully to everyone’s individual issues concerning my plan, overcome their individual objections and get agreement on whatever was necessary to move forward. Sometimes I had to get different parties together if their desires conflicted.

When I walked into a meeting, I knew pretty much what was going to happen before it happened. So I could appear very efficient and professional. Of course, this “meeting before the meeting” concept is not always practical when selling to a committee you are meeting for the first time. That is why it is always important to get as much information as possible on who will be at these meetings.

Then do your research on the members so you can get an idea on what portfolios they hold in the company, and what would be their likely concerns. Also, from your research you may find that you have a common interest with them. This may help in the way you explain your presentation to them.

NB: D’Arcy Rahming holds a Masters of Management from the prestigious Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. A lecturer at the College of the Bahamas, Mr Rahming has clients in general insurance, the retail, health and medical fields, sports federations and financial services. To receive his marketing newsletter FREE go to http://DArcyRahming.com or contact him directly at darcyrahmingsr@gmail.com