What’s the old saying, “If selling OOH was easy, everyone would be doing it”. The prospecting landscape is littered with pitfalls and traps that claim many OOH sellers. If you’re not careful, you may succumb to them as well. However, a concept we teach our OOH Sales Mastery clients called the Success Triangle, helps to navigate this terrain. To fully realize the power of this tool, you must understand each of the three components involved; Attitude, Behavior & Technique and how they connect to one another.
This is the first in a series of 3 OOH Blogs to address the “typical traps or mistakes” salespeople make in each of those 3 areas that can derail their efforts. Let’s start this week with the Attitude leg of the triangle.
Attitude
Success resides between your ears. It’s how you look at the world. Attitude is ones’s belief system and determines how you act and that ultimately affects your results. It’s very easy to have a clouded view of your attitude if you are not diligent with your process. There are several common mental traps that OOH salespeople fall into when engaging in prospecting activities.
Attitude Trap #1 Having a scarcity mindset and not turning the ‘gumball machine,’ enough.
You’re going to have to dig into your imaginative side for this one. Form a mental image of a gumball machine – just like one you’d see in an arcade or toy store. The globe is filled will red, blue, green, yellow, and purple candies. You want green gumballs because they’re your favorite flavor. You turn the handle once, and a red gumball pops out.
You give it to your little brother. You turn it again, and a purple one comes out. You throw that one away. Yet you still turn it again, knowing there’s a green one coming soon.
The green gumball pops out on the third try, you throw it in your mouth and enjoy.
The world of OOH prospecting can work just like this gumball machine. If your ideal prospects are green gumballs, keep turning the handle until they come out. The more you prospect, the more chances you have at achieving an ideal prospect. Yet, you know everyone you engage with isn’t going to be a green gumball. For this gumball theory to work for you, you will need to know what an ideal prospect looks like in your business.
What is your green gumball? If prospects don’t work out, just turn the handle again and wait for your green gumball to pop out
Attitude Trap #2 Believing you’re not worthy of your clients’ time.
Successful selling has a lot to do with a positive mindset. If you feel inferior or as if you’re going to waste your clients’ time, you probably will. Before you can be of value to your clients or prospects, you must know your own worth.
Think back to other outdoor campaigns you have worked on with other clients – have they been beneficial to other clients in the past? If so, take to heart that you add value to those you engage with. Knowing this can both protect your attitude and self-esteem. You have equal business stature with your buyer. Don’t be intimidated by an owner or senior – you also deserve to talk to the highest-ranking person in the buyer side regardless of your title.
Attitude Trap #3 Letting your ego alter your decision making.
Before entering into a meeting with a client or prospect, check yourself. Don’t try to show your them how smart you are by dominating the conversation. Ask questions and discover their business problems or issues are before you save the day.
Ego doesn’t only adversely affect you by bolstering your confidence. Alternatively, some individuals don’t want to prospect because they’re insecure and afraid of embarrassing themselves in front of prospects. It’s important to understand that this is part of the process. You will make mistakes the more you prospect – it’s only natural.
Don’t let your ego get in the way of your dedication to prospecting.
Need help with sales skills or coaching to take your out of home company to the next level. Learn more about OOH Sales Mastery at oohmastery.com or Contact Dan Nausley at dan.nausley@sandler.com, 423.702.5579.
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Lisa & Dan Nausley and Reggie Piercy of Sandler Chattanooga have developed the OOH Sales Mastery Program after more than a decade of training/coaching thousands of OOH Operators across the country in sales, leadership, and executive coaching.
