Win With Flynn

I was driving my daughter to swim practice last week. Our Sunday morning routine starts early, but not too early. We jump in the 4Runner and head down the hill. I drop her off and take a walk to my favorite coffee shop.

On this particular Sunday, it didn’t take long for my alternative rock to get interrupted.

“Can I pick something out?”

“Of course!” I say, “I’ll save the Radiohead for next week.”

I catch her eyeroll in the rearview mirror and pass my iPhone back.

I’m thinking don’t be Taylor Swift, don’t be Taylor Swift, don’t be Taylor Swift but I’m saying, “Find anything good?”

She pushes play and I hear this:

My name is no, my sign is no, my number is no, uh

You need to let it go, uh

You need to let it go, uh

Need to let it go, uh

Nah to the ah to the, no, no, no

I have no clue if this is accurate or wishful thinking from Meghan, but either way, I had never heard a song that so accurately described my high school, college, and professional experience.

I’ve been “noped” a lot.

Meghan went on.

I was in my zone, before you came along

Don’t want you to take this personal

Blah, blah, blah

I be like nah to the ah to the, no, no, no

Mind blown.

I mean, I sort of hate the song, but still. Mind blown.

via GIPHY

The message is clear, but it’s not always heard.

Solicitation:

What she is talking about is solicitation. A word with such negative connotations they make signs for it.

And the signs are popular.

We had one on the front door throughout my childhood.

You see very few NO ACCOUNTING signs.

Almost impossible to imagine a NO ENGINEERING sign.

But if you’re selling something, you’ve had to deal with this no-solicitation thing. Doesn’t matter if it’s gutter cleaning or Cutco knives. Doesn’t matter if you’re trying to save the children or the rainforest.

The response is the same, “My name is no.“

Meghan and the others are right to put up the sign and send the solicitor packing.

Coming from a sales guy on a sales blog, that might be surprising, but it is important to identify the difference between sales and solicitation.

Soliciting is making the first move in a place where it’s unwanted. Unrequested. Solicitation is trying to obtain something from someone.

When a prostitute or a John gets arrested, and sent off to night court, it is for criminal solicitation.

“Hey sugar, you looking for a date?”

Even Vivian didn’t go straight to asking Edward to get married. But that is what most solicitations do. They cut straight to the chase. No foreplay.

Pushier than a prostitute is no way to make a career in sales.

No, Vivian is a professional. Instead of escalating the situation, instead of trying to speed up the sales cycle, and instead of trying to close, she takes what Edward gives her.

Directions to Beverly Hills.

And while she’s in that sweet-ass Lotus Esprit, she identifies additional needs.

He can’t drive the damn thing.

So maybe we can learn a little something from Vivian. Maybe it looked like she was walking the streets and soliciting God knows what but in reality, she was selling and consulting these Johns.

Have I sullied the reputation of this blog yet? Let’s continue.

Solicitation involves inducing. It’s persuasion. People can smell that stank on you like cheap cologne.

You don’t think of yourself that way but it’s exactly how you come across when you knock-knock on their door unannounced. Same when you ring-ring in the middle of their workday.

And that’s why you get, “My name is NO. My number is NO.“

Do you follow? I’m not straight-up calling these salespeople hookers, I would never do that, but the similarities are obvious.

The solicitor doesn’t really care about the customer making progress, they care about their checking account making progress.

Nobody likes solicitation. Nobody opts in for it. It’s annoying. Like a card slapper in Vegas.

Selling is different from solicitation:

Selling is different. It’s a bit more like dating than walking the streets.

It works best if your friend sets you up. You go out a few times, get to know each other, see if you’re compatible, and then live happily ever after.

More often than not, the solicitor gets confused. Approaching every single at the bar on the off chance one of them says “yes, yes, a thousand times yes.”

The outcome in that scenario is as predictable as a Vegas wedding.

Sales is a bit more like finding a friend at a new school.

Lots of “seats taken” but eventually you’ll find a place.

More often than not, it’s the little comment in class that gets a laugh, or it’s helping each other in chemistry, and realizing you’ve got a few things in common that are worth building on.

I guess what I’m saying is people confuse solicitation and sales. Nobody likes solicitation. Not for a product, not for a service, not for a date, not for a friend.

I guess what I’m saying is that sales is no different than the rest of your life. No different than the other relationships you’ve built. But a lot of times salespeople and solicitors make it weird.

I guess what I’m saying is don’t make it weird.

How is it done?

Try these shameless plugs for other posts on this fine blog.

You can use the idol effect, stay ready like kiss guy, engage like the queen of Point Loma, and of course, you’ll need to say something smart.

Or you can pound the pavement, knocking on every door with your latest solicitation, and you’ll get the response you deserve.

“Nah to the ah to the, no, no, no.”