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One-Up in Sales



Kirjoittanut: Felix Schwarz-Pajunen - tiimistä Crevio.

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KIRJALÄHTEET
KIRJA KIRJAILIJA
Elite Sales Strategies
Anthony Iannarino
Esseen arvioitu lukuaika on 4 minuuttia.

One-up in Sales

People buy from people they trust to make a decision they don’t trust themselves to make.

—Chris Beall

The odds seem to be stacked against salespeople. Who trusts someone who just entered their space to convince them to buy something? How does one get to that position of trust as a salesperson?

The One-Up position.

Anthony Iannarino argues that if one wants to be successful in sales, one must be in the One-Up position because “…there is no reason for a client to ever take advice from someone in the One-Down position” (Iannarino 2022a)

Being One-Up in sales is different to how it is defined in the dictionary. The dictionary describes being One-Up as a position of superiority where one takes advantage of others. (Collins 2023)

In Iannarinos context of B2B sales, being One-Up is a situational position of superiority where one can act as a leader or guide to help the client in a certain area to make a better decision or help solve their problem. The goal is that the client is in the One-Up position in the future.

In other words, one must be able to create value in the sales conversation to build trust. This should not be confused with creating value after the conversation with the delivery of the product or service. The idea is especially applicable in B2B sales but can also be used in B2C sales.

To find out whether one is One-Up or One-Down in the conversation one can ask a simple question: Who benefits more from the conversation, the client or oneself? If it is oneself, probably because one is desperate for a sale, one is One-Down. If the client benefits more from the conversation, ideally because one adds already value before having a deal, one is One-Up and builds trust.

Besides adding value during the sales conversation there are several other aspects which put one automatically either in the One-Up or One-Down position.

Learn and be an expert

To be One-Up, one needs to know a lot in the given field and eventually become an expert.  No one is always in the One-Up position and pretending to be will result in being One-Down since a know-it-all attitude does not inspire trust. At times it is necessary to temporarily be in the One-Down position to learn about a client’s situation, business, or industry. A willingness to learn will help to get back to the One-Up position, a position where one is able to make sense out of the clients’ world. As mentioned above, why would a client take advice from someone who knows less then themselves?

Preparations & understanding

Older B2B sales approaches focus on first finding a problem or pain point to later provide a solution. In today’s fast pacing world, where information is easily available but often complex and hard to make sense of, more is required of the salesperson.

If one succeeds in making sense of a client’s world and can inspire certainty to move forward with change during uncertainty, one is in the One-Up position.

“There is a subtle but critical difference between the One-Down elicitation of a client’s pain points and the One-up approach of teaching them why they have those pain points. In the first case, you are trying to force your solution into the conversation, and in the second you are helping your client recognize the reason they’re struggling. In the first you are asking for information; in the second, you are providing information and insights that provide you and your client even more information. Decision-makers and leaders already want better results; they just struggle to find people who can help.” (Iannarino 2022b)

To be One-Up, one must be continually learning and deepen ones understanding. Rather than merely a salesperson, one can picture oneself as a partner and consultant.

Confidence

“…every good thing that ever happens to you in sales is the result of meeting a stranger!” (Iannarino 2022c)   Fear of the client or of conflict puts one in the One-Down position. Instead of fearing to make contact, the fear of not coming through by hesitation to make contact is more realistic. Desperation for a deal is also likely to be recognized and interpreted as a sign of fear and lack of control, both things that put you in the One-Down position.

Confidence and certainty in one’s own advice and ability will also put one in the One-Up position. If a client doesn’t trust themselves to take a decision or make a move, is certainly doesn’t help if the salesperson share the same uncertainty. Clients need to be led confidently to create trust. If one has confidence, one is One-Up. If uncertainty displays one automatically moves to a One-Down position, a place where one’s advice is not valuable to the client.

A practical example 

Our finance team just experienced a One-Up sales representative while meeting with an accounting firm. We met to discuss whether the company he represents would be a good fit for us or not. During the conversation the sales representative, a Proakatemia alumni, gave us information that was very valuable to us, but his insight was not dependent on us making a deal with him. Regardless of us choosing him or not, we are now better equipped to handle our finances. He made more sense of our world. To him, adding value seemed the priority of the meeting. He was One-Up and used his position of superiority to act as a guide for us so we can make better choices and be One-Up in the future. This made me trust him and the company he represents.

 

 

 

References

 

Collins Dictionary, Read on 19.03.2023

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/one-upmanship

 

Iannarino, A. 2022a. Elite Sales Stategies, A guide to being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, O’Reilly

 

Iannarino, A. 2022b. Elite Sales Stategies, A guide to being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, O’Reilly

 

Iannarino, A. 2022c. Elite Sales Stategies, A guide to being One-Up, Creating Value, and Becoming Truly Consultative, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, O’Reilly

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