Two Sides of Sales

The essence and purpose of Heavy Hitter Selling can be distilled into one analogy –the “Sales Iceberg.” The visible portion of the iceberg above the water represents the logic of selling. All salespeople are aware of their product’s features, benefits, and specifications. Their company has identified a process to educate customers about their products and established procedures to determine customers’ business qualifications and technical requirements.

However, underneath the waterline is the unseen, intangible part of the sales process that is ultimately responsible for the decision being made. The submerged portion symbolizes the influence of human nature during the sales process. Since most salespeople find the human element of selling to be more complex, unpredictable, and difficult to manage, they don’t fully take advantage of customer behavior or they misinterpret and ignore it.

Unfortunately, most companies only train their salespeople on the logic of selecting a product. And like a ship on the Arctic Ocean, salespeople who aren’t aware of the part of the iceberg that cannot be seen do not know whether they will survive or perish on the voyage. Meanwhile, Heavy Hitters (truly great salespeople) successfully reach their destination by using intuition to plot a course based upon their customers’ behavior. 

At the foundation of all of sales is a relationship between people. Just as a sunken block of ice can sink a ship, misunderstanding human nature can wreck any business or personal relationship. Of course, many of the concepts covered in Heavy Hitter Selling can also be applied to your personal relationships with your spouse, children, relatives, and friends. Even these relationships require time, effort, and rapport to succeed.