The essence of PQ — political quotient — is making things happen through other people. You have to persuade them, sell them on your idea and agenda. The more senior you become, the more of a salesperson you become, spending less time doing things yourself and more time persuading colleagues, clients and stakeholders to do or agree things.
When people think of salespeople, they tend to think of them putting their foot in the door and trying to persuade hapless home-buyers to buy double-glazing, encyclopaedias or eternal salvation. More subtlety and finesse is required to sell into the C-Suite (CEOs, CIOs, Chairmen).
Ideally, they shouldn’t notice you’re selling to them — creat the impression you are helping to solve a problem. This means moving from a win/lose mentality — ‘I will negotiate to win against you’– to a win/win mentality. This requires that you see the world through their eyes.
There’s a logic flow to all persuasive conversations, which can take from seconds — agreeing to go out for the evening — to years (selling a fleet of aircraft to government).
It is as follows:
- Agree the problem or opportunity
- Agree the benefits of addressing the problem/opportunity
- Suggest the idea
- Explain how it works
- Pre-empt objections
- Reinforce the benefits
- Close
If seven steps are too many, combine 1 and 2, 3 and 4, then close.
Remember to listen twice as much as you talk. This logic flow also presumes you’ve built enough trust and mutual respect to have a substantive conversation.
How good are your powers of persuasion? Share your best sales stories below.
