Issue #125

Relationships Are Part of Product Market Fit

All reps are different and fitting the right one to the right customer can make or break a customer relationship.

I had two great salesmen in my team: Simon and Mikhail.

Every month, both of them were top of the numbers. No dramas or excuses, just consistent results.

But something kept happening that didn’t show up on the leaderboard.

The rest of the team seemed to like Simon more and so did the customers.

Not in a “he’s fun in the pub” way, Mikhail was actually the funny one. In a “please make him my account manager” way.

We sold procurement services into hospital systems and regional health organisations. Customers treated risk, trust and value for money like religious dogma.

Let’s Investigate

More than one customer actually requested Simon by name.

Not because Mikhail was bad. He wasn’t, he was objectively excellent.

I assumed it was personal taste, a Coke vs. Pepsi thing, but I wanted to get to the bottom of it.

So, I scheduled a ride along day for each of them.

Simon

First was Simon, we did the rounds. All the usual hard nosed stakeholders, budget constraints and NHS procurement nonsense.

Afterwards, in the car, he offered to shared his sandwiches. He preferred to sit in the car park and chat as we reviewed the day.

He had big plans for his patch.

He talked about his customers with enthusiasm, like he’d adopted them and had to keep them alive.

He chatted about his girlfriend and planning to get married the following year.

He was so authentic and natural I felt like assessing him was a bit underhand.

Mikhail

Then I did a day’s calls with Mikhail.

Same type of customers, same company badge but totally different energy to the day. He was professional and efficient but not hugely engaged.

After the last meeting he took me to a nice restaurant. He knew the maitre’d, of course.

We reviewed the day over Thai food, he had that tone people use when they want you to notice they’re doing well.

He must have forgotten I knew what salary he was on.

He told me about his holidays in Spain and France. His plans to get a Porsche in a couple of years.

He was noticeably condescending about his customers.

He wanted to move onwards and upwards. Out of the mud, away from the boring people with boring problems.

Before You Judge

Now, if you’re already judging him, you’re in danger of missing the point I want to make.

It would be easy to say Simon was “good” and Mikhail was “bad” or even the other way around, but that gets you nowhere.

More Useful

What I realised was more nuanced and more useful.

Simon made public-sector healthcare buyers feel safe. Mikhail got the job done, but he didn’t care what anyone felt except himself.

And in that world, “safe” is the product. Hospitals don’t buy excitement, they buy certainty and trust, as I’ve said.

They didn’t want someone auditioning for a better life, and that was clearly Mikhail’s story.

Simon’s energy matched theirs, he was the embodiment of our product positioning.

Service-centred, steady, conscientious and here for the the long game.

Mikhail’s energy signalled ambition, status and self-first.

To a hospital buyer it feels like, “This bloke is here for himself. When it goes wrong, he’ll be gone.”

Mikhail Heads for The Stars

Shortly after this, I moved him into our pharmaceutical business group. And his results took off like a rocket.

Pharma is faster, more commercial, less political, and less emotionally allergic to big personalities.

In that environment, his confidence landed as authority, his ambition as drive and his sharpness as leadership.

Same plant, different pot, better outcome.

Don’t Judge People, Place Them

That’s the real lesson. There is no point moralising about personalities, you can’t change another person even if you wanted to.

It is more profitable to start matching reps to buyer psychology instead.

Some markets want the calm professional who builds trust through consistency.

Some markets want the ambitious closer who creates momentum and doesn’t apologise for wanting to win.

Both guys were "congruent" in their way of working, find out more from this short carousel: Congruence in Sales.pdf​

he One Question
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If you’re selling into enterprise, you need to ask yourself one question, “What does this buyer need to feel, so they can safely say yes?”

Then check your own signal, because buyers don’t only buy your capability. They buy what they think you’ll be like when it gets messy.

Simple Test

If your buyer is punished for failure, they will pick the person who reduces their personal risk, even if someone else looks more impressive on paper.

Mistake To Avoid

Trying to sell every market with the same personality and then labelling the buyer “political” or “out of touch” when it doesn’t work.

House of Sales

I help people use what they’ve got and develop what they need to sell the way big customers buy.

If you liked this then send it to the team, we all need whatever help we can get (www.b2bhouseofsales.com).

They will carry you shoulder high at your next team meeting...

See you next week.

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