MoneyWatch

Be a Consultant = Lose the Sale, Pt. 2

By Geoffrey James

Updated on: October 24, 2007 / 9:01 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

In yesterday's post, I explained that it's the kiss of death if customers see you as a CONSULTANT. Instead, you need to be seen as a MANAGER. To make this point clear, here's a classic example: IBM.

Back in the '70s and early '80s, IBM comprised around three quarters of the entire computer industry. There were other vendors, and they had great (and often superior) computer products, but they consistently lost to IBM because IBM was selling in a fundamentally different way. Here's a quick summary:

HOW IBM'S COMPETITION SOLD:

Sales reps typically handled a dozen or more accounts.
Sales reps looked and talked like failed programmers.
Sales reps built relationships with engineering managers.
Sales reps pitched the wonders of their new technology.
Sales reps helped engineering managers to sell up the line.

HOW IBM SOLD:

Major accounts got a dedicated sales rep who only serviced that account.
The sales rep looked and talked like a top executive.
The sales rep secured office space at the customer site.
The sales rep took ownership of the customer's IT results.
The sales rep enlisted IBM engineers to work with the customer's engineers.

In other words, IBM's sales reps behaved like MANAGERS, while their competitors' sales reps behaved like CONSULTANTS. When the PC turned the entire computer industry on its ear, IBM was the ONLY mainframe vendor to survive because its selling methods led easily into a strategy of selling "services" which (not surprisingly) include outsourcing. The successful transition of IBM from a "mainframe vendor" into a "services vendor" was possible because IBM's sales methods had already trained IBM reps to be managers rather than consultants.

Anyway, all of this leads up to tomorrow's post, which will change the way you think about selling...forever.