The Lie of a “Better” Sales Process.

We all want to believe that there’s a better way of doing things.

And usually there is.

We want to imagine that there is a magic process that solves all of our business problems in one amazing swoop of awesomeness.

And why wouldn’t we?

Heck, the pressure of learning from poor decision and innovating around ideas that don’t already exist can be all-consuming at times. It’s flat out tough stuff.

Which gets us thinking.

What if there were a super-secret way of doing business that you had not already considered? What if that super secret of doing business promised to fulfill everything you every wanted for yourself? What if…

And no industry asks that question more than sales.

That promise of a better process has fueled the writing of hundreds of thousands of books on this subject. A simple search on Amazon.com for “sales” returned over 750,000 results. A little over 250,000 of those were physical books and 9,000 were ebooks.

And they all generally share the same thing in common — the promise of being the answer to your sales problems.

Right?

What’s on the cover of the book?

You’ve seen this before:

• 7 steps to bigger, bolder sales
• Close deals faster than ever
• Blow away the competition in 30 minutes a day

Or something pretty similar.

And while it’s well intentioned, no one single book will solve your sales problems. Neither will switching to a new sales process.

There are dozens of sales methodologies being used. There is SPIN Selling, Sandler Sales, Customer Centric Selling, Huthwaite, Buying Facilitation, and a dozen more.

And you know what?

They all work.

In fact, they all work well — amazingly well at times.

But the whole idea that switching to a new sales process as remedy for poor results is horribly misguided.

Its a big lie.

And not a lie that strategists mean to tell you. It just happens.

You read a book jacket and hear all the raving fans telling you about life-changing business success. You call a reference and hear the outrageous claims of “we will never be the same again”. You read a handful of monthly startup magazines and scan a half dozen pages of impressive advertisements all touting the same game-changing process.

And you believe the lie that a new process with help you.

It’s most likely all just a massive waste of your time.

Here are two reasons why:

1. No process works if you aren’t — Effort — your effort — is what makes the process a process. Without you working like a maniac to be successful, your process is just a “wish”. The process isn’t supposed to be a magic wand — more like a shovel to dig your way out of trouble. If you work hard enough, just about any process starts to look like brilliance.
2. Any process works most of the time – Even illogic is a great business plan to a certain segment of the marketplace. Any process works because the process is just a series of steps that are supposed to get you to the finish line. Knowing where you want to be is the biggest obstacle you’ll face. Having a process solves that.

You are the difference.

The sales process is just your way of staying focused. Never doubt that.

Don’t get sucked into thinking that jumping ship to a new “4 step” sales and marketing workflow is your ticket to the success you really want.

It’s just a lie.