A TRIBUTE TO SQUIRRELS

Over the Labor Day weekend I had the opportunity to get a sales lesson from of all things, a squirrel. (Actually, several squirrels)

I have several bird feeders in my backyard and it is a lot of fun to watch the birds enjoying the feed from out kitchen window. It is nothing new to also have a couple of pesky squirrels raid the feeders on a regular basis. Over the past several years I have “invested” in an assortment of feeders that all claim to be “SQUIRREL PROOF”.

As I was watching one particularly persistent squirrel raise havoc with one of the “squirrel proof” feeders, it occurred to me that this squirrel would make a great sales rep.

As I watched this one squirrel it perched on the bird bath and sat there looking at the feeder it was planning to invade. It was as if he was looking for the best way to attack the feeder and get the most bird seed with the least amount of effort. Isn’t this want a rep should do? Shouldn’t a good rep do some research on the prospect before “attacking” them with a sales presentation. Wouldn’t it make sense to have some “intel” about the business you are about to sell? Just like the squirrel, knowing the layout, the people, the weaknesses and the strengths of a prospect would make for a better presentation wouldn’t it?

I then watched the squirrel approach the feeder he chose to attack. He calmly and with exacting accuracy made his move on the feeder. I am not sure what he was thinking but I am sure he didn’t expect the feeder to close when he landed on it. At first this seemed to puzzle the squirrel and he jumped down, but a few minutes later he was back and this time he tries a few moves to open the feeder. After that didn’t work he jumped down again. This happened 3 more times before he learned to hang from the tree and not put his weight on the feeder. This kept it open and made an easy meal for the squirrel. Shouldn’t a good sales rep learn from every presentation? If one approach doesn’t work, he or she should change it and keep trying something new until they find an approach that works.

Over the next few minutes the squirrel learned enough that it looked as if he knew how it was going to swing, what it was going to do when he landed on it, and what he had to do to hang on and get his reward. A sales rep should be relaxed and walk into a prospect with confidence. The rep should know what the typical objections are and be prepared with their responses. A sales rep should know how their product will benefit the prospect and be ready for the onslaught of objections and problems they will need to overcome to make the sale.

Once the squirrel was on the feeder eating he was always looking around and alert for ME to come out and chase him away. A sales rep should always be looking around and should be alert for opportunities that may arise to solve a problem or help a prospect. The rep should be on the lookout for distractions that can grab the prospects attention away from your sales presentation and give the prospect a reason to chase them off.

Finally the squirrel jumped down and walked away. He didn’t empty the feeder, he left enough seed so he could return for another meal later. Isn’t that what a great sales rep does? A great rep writes an order but always leaves a good impression so he or she can come back and sell more at another time.

I amazed myself at how I became a cheerleader for this squirrel. I wanted it to rob my seed, I wanted to see what it would do next to overcome the problems the feeder presented, and I wanted to see how quickly it would learn what it needed to do to succeed.

Just before I sat down to write this post I drove to the Home Depot and bought a SQUIRREL FEEDER. Like customers, at some point I need to realize that if I can’t beat them, I might as well enjoy them!

Lorin