Page 184 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

21 Tips for Selling Creative Ideas 175

If you have all the answers, which is the tendency when you sell (you
try to have all your ducks in a row, you try to answer all the concerns),
you could be hurting your cause more than helping. Even if you literally
have all the answers, and even if your answers are correct, people don’t
always value them when they’re just thrown around so readily.
Nobody’s that smart. Nobody has all the answers. If you’re
stumped, or even just unsure and don’t have the answer, don’t guess.
Don’t B.S. people. Say instead, “I don’t know. I’ll get back to you on
that.” I can tell you from experience that many people find this honesty
very refreshing.
Frankly, I use this technique sometimes even when I do have the
answers. Why? Because if I have a ready answer and they have a ready
objection, they’re probably still stuck in their objection place. If I say,
“Let me get back to you on that,” they may cool off on their objection.
If I come back with the answer when they’re in a cooler place, maybe
I’ll have more success.
Another thing about this approach: Not only will they believe
you’re more thoughtful about it, but, frankly, you may actually develop a
better answer in that extra time you allot yourself.
And one last selling secret in this area: You can charge people more
if you take more time. (Only kidding.... Well, half kidding.)

Prepare for Success
Perhaps the greatest college basketball coach of all time, John Wooden,
who led the UCLA dynasty during the 1960s and 1970s, said, “Failure to
prepare is to prepare to fail.” I see so many people go off half-cocked,
ready to sell their ideas without the necessary preparation. Being pre-
pared means thinking through how you’re going to sell your idea, think-
ing through how others are going to perceive it, thinking about objections
that might arise—again, not necessarily to have all the answers but sim-
ply to be prepared. It’s utterly amazing how few people really prepare to
sell their ideas. Then they wonder why their success rate is so low.
Another part of preparation is rehearsing. The best salespeople
rehearse. Most people I encounter in business rehearse their sales
pitch very little. The best salespeople rehearse a great deal. Ever won-
der how they got to be the best?

Know Your Audience
Whom are you selling your idea to? Whom are you talking to? Your
presentation, your preparation, might be very different if you’re selling
to this person versus that person.