EUCLIDEAN SELLING: The Circumference of Success

That little is known about the Greek mathematician Euclid (circa 385-275 B.C.) is most likely due to his holing himself up for most of his life to write his 13-volume treatise on geometry, The Elements (a legacy that reluctant school children 2,000 years down the road would much rather trade-in for a Nintendo 3DS XL).

Euclidean geometry is a deliberate movement away from the memorization of simple algorithms to solve equations by rote. Instead, it insists on true insight into the subject, clever ideas for applying theorems in special situations, an ability to generalize from known facts and an insistence on the importance of proof; each of which is a key component of the selling process. At the core of The Elements’ logical progression from axioms to postulates is the wonderful simplicity of The Circle. Ruler and compass have been the only tools employed for geometrical constructions right up until today, which attests to Euclidean geometry’s pure and unequivocal clarity. 

The simplicity of childhood for baby boomers like me is hallmarked by The Circle. We learned to “Go, go, go with Cheerios,” to exclaim with triumph the celebratory “King me!” in checkers and to spend countless hours with the Spirograph geometric drawing toy producing mathematical roulette curves (unknown to our young and untechnical minds as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids) until being called to dinner on TV by Jimmie Rodgers singing, "Uh-Oh! SpaghettiOs.”

In the 1960s, Bayard Rustin, a key figure in civil rights and one of the participants in the 1958 Aldermaston march, was instrumental in aligning the circular peace symbol, originally associated with nuclear disarmament, with peace-activist groups such as the civil-rights movement. During the Vietnam War, the peace symbol was widely used in anti-war protests and the first documented use of the peace sign by the hippies counter culture occurred in the 1966 novel Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King. In 1980’s "Miracle on Ice" we watched the United States national hockey team earn its gold medals by defeating the Soviet Union national team. The Olympic Games five interlocking rings, colored blue, yellow, black, green, and red on a white field standing for those colors that appeared on all the national flags that competed in the 1912 Olympic games, was emblazoned forever in our minds. 

Marketing icon and mascot of Energizer batteries, The Energizer Bunny, wearing sunglasses and blue and white striped sandals, beat a big round bass drum to remind us that its power cell “keeps going and going and going.” TV ads told us that "The best part of waking up is Folgers in your (circular) cup” and McDonalds tempted our palates with “two (round) all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun.” The MasterCard logo encouraged us to ‘charge’ up our lifestyles; the red circle representing vitality and the yellow color standing for happiness, richness and prosperity. RotoRooter promised us “away go troubles down the (round) drain” and Hertz “put you in the driver’s seat” by air-dropping couples holding hands to behind the steering wheel of a convertible. The famous little white round pill heralded that “Bayer works wonders” and Speedy Alka Seltzer’s over-the-counter remedy proclaimed, “Plop plop fizz fizz oh what a relief it is.” Credible newsman John Cameron Swayze attached round Timex wrist watches to high-divers, water skiers, a dolphin, dishwashers, jackhammers, paint mixers and the propeller of an outboard motor to prove on “live” television that, "Timex – Takes a Licking and keeps on Ticking." We only have to have our radar on scan today to see how The Circle continues to play a compelling role in our lives and how it influences our decision making. 

If there is one evolutionary thing our generation has learned to do well beyond our food gathering, shelter building and procreating predecessors it’s to unnecessarily overcomplicate our lives and careers. And, selling has not been immune from performance overcomplexity. Though a study conducted by the Harvard Business School with successful companies found that 95% of their sales training was product knowledge-based, only 15% of their selling success came directly from that information. Selling skills and motivation were more influential factors. Yet, sales people today continue to lead with telling prospects everything they know about every one of their company’s products and how they work…before they even know what the needs are of the person they’re meeting with. Two factors are at play here:  

• The sales person is looking for self-confidence by knowing everything knowable about every product in his catalogue quiver. It’s exactly what Euclid was trying to get us away from in geometry: memorizing algorithms to problem solve equations by rote. What ends up happening is the sales person tells the prospect all he knows about his products without zeroing in on what the prospect’s actual need is and coming up with the best solution. By dumping the entirety of his product information on the prospect, the unconfident salesperson is surrendering selling control in the hope that the prospect will make the decision on his own.
• What’s good for the Euclidean geometry gander is good for selling, namely: 

1. Get true insight: Do your pre-selling homework. Does the prospect fit your ideal customer profile? What kind of business is it and in what industry? How large is the company? How many locations? What’s the number of employees? Who are the decision makers and what can you learn from their profiles? How many years has the company been in business? What information can you glean from their press releases, blogs and social media? What’s the company’s financial performance? Have they been in the news and, if so, for what? What are their customer demographics? What do customer reviews tell you? Who is your competition for selling to this company and where can you stand out and add value? Make a list of questions and find out the answers. Then dig even deeper. 
2. Identify ideas for applying theorems in special situations: Understand the essential problem the prospect faces and respond with a tailored solution. Learning the specific problems your contact faces in his role at the company is the only way you can adapt your solution to meet his needs. Find the prospect’s problem and you’ve got your opportunity to shine. 
3. Generalize from known facts: Know about your customer and the problems his company faces so that you can build your own story about how you’ve helped other customers in his industry excel and succeed. Don’t sell products. Present tailored solutions. Make it compelling for your prospect to work with you.
4. Insist on the importance of proof: Show your prospect what you can do for him by sharing what you’ve already accomplished with other customers you’ve worked with who faced similar challenges. And, don’t leave the customer at the altar after you’ve closed him. Follow-up often and validate the success he’s having with you. That’s how your long-term relationship will grow and where your referrals will come from.

Always focus on what your customer wants. You’ll know when you’re overcomplicating the sales process when the focus shifts from your customer to you. It means you’ve stopped listening and are telling. Successful selling is all about what the buyer wants to happen when he uses your product or service. Buyers want more than product education. They’ve already done their homework and probably know more about you and what you offer than you can imagine when you walk in for the first time. What prospects fundamentally wants to know is how you can help them improve their business. 

Keep the simplicity of The Circle continuously in your mind. It’s the most common shape in the world. It has no corners, no irregularities and it looks the same no matter how you turn it. Your circumference of success in selling expands or contracts with how full is your pipeline and how qualified your prospects are in matching your ideal customer.

© 2015 Garrison Leykam

Coming next: EUCLIDEAN SELLING: Reaching your PI-tential