Sales

When I entered enterprise sales, I thought selling was about winning.
Beat the competition.
Close the deal.
Make the quota.
Then I learned a lesson I still call The Three-Dollar Mistake.

 

I was selling electromechanical relays to General Dynamics for use on military aircraft. Our relay cost about $10. A competitor's cost $7.

The buyer wanted me to explain the extra three dollars.

Instead, I discovered that we were looking at entirely different problems.

Our relay fired the squib that launched a missile. During aggressive maneuvers, missiles could partially separate from the aircraft without the pilot realizing it.

I proposed a solid-state solution that could detect leakage current and verify that the missile was still properly connected.

Suddenly, we weren't arguing about a $10 relay.

We were discussing a $200 solution to a mission-critical problem.

The Air Force approved it.

That experience changed my understanding of sales permanently.

The best salesperson isn't the person who is best at convincing someone to buy.

The best salesperson is the person who helps the customer understand the problem they're actually trying to solve.

Sales taught me that value isn't determined by the price of a product.

It's determined by the importance of the problem you solve.