• The decision maker isn’t there

• The prospect isn’t being truthful

• They have a problem they really don’t want to fix

• They aren’t going to undo a current relationship

• They don’t have the money or resources to invest to fix a problem

Therefore, you ignore the ‘elephant’.  For example, think about the short term and long term consequences of ignoring the fact that your prospect has not yet decided to change from their current problematic relationship.  Certainly, the problem for you, as the sales person, is that by ignoring the fact that they can’t change a relationship, you are going to end up doing a lot of work and putting money in someone else’s pocket.  This takes from you and your company. It takes the time that you could have spent on someone that is ready, willing and able to change. It also takes time you could have spent with a client that needs additional services from you, and it takes time from your family.

Your company ends up supporting an effort that has zero return on investment because you aren’t courageous enough to address this particular white elephant of not being able to fire the incumbent.  They invest time, money and resources on you and your "I think they will buy from me.  They really liked what I had to say and enjoyed the presentation."  Great; however, none of that gets you paid or enhances company profits, and it certainly doesn’t solve the problem for the prospect.

If you are going to sell more and be more productive and effective in your sales efforts, you must FIRST have the sales courage to call out "WHITE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM" when you see it, hear it or sense it.  I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you have to learn when it’s there; you already know.  Your gut tells you when something is amiss.  Now you must have the courage to speak up and say, ‘If you don’t mind, there is something that I’d like to address, is that ok?" 

Once you recognize this and develop the courage to address it, you won’t have to worry about what you should say.  The right words will come to you.  Just remember to be assertive and not aggressive.  Stay clinically detached, nurture your comments, and don’t be afraid to walk from the prospect or client if a mutual understanding and agreement isn’t reached.

4 Questions to Ask Yourself to Improve Your Sales Courage:

1. What was a recent white elephant moment you had in selling?  (Something that you knew would take the sale sideways or corrupt your ability to close the deal, but you ignored it ‘hoping’ you could find a way to handle it later, or that it would go away and solve itself’)

2. What did you want to say or do but backed off?

3. What can you do, must you do, about it now?

4. How will you handle such incidents in the future?

I was introduced to the head of competitive sports at the military academy at West Point.  We talked about measuring commitment.  Commitment at the military academy is at a different level than what we consider as commitment.  We think in terms of committing to prospecting activity; they commit to bringing entire companies of soldiers back to the states alive.  However, we both have the same problem:  "how do you measure commitment".  I think it’s simple:

• Achievement of stated and agreed to non-negotiable goals

• No excuses when you fail to accomplish goals

As simple as this concept is, and with all the leadership taught at the academy, this seemed to resonate and help them realize that, yes, even at this high level of performance, people are susceptible to performing less than they are capable of.

Their objective of focusing on building teams of significance and winning with honor is to prepare cadets for battle, for fighting, for protecting our country.  They measure success by lives not lost and those not wounded.  These are their objectives, their metrics for success, and they have fun, they joke, and they enjoy a deep commitment to each other and to the cause.  It is truly a remarkable environment.

In addition to our discussion around identifying and measuring commitment, we discussed how they work to develop commitment and cohesion within their teams.  I asked them what they do currently. Their response:   they talk about and coach to vision, goals and core values, having the right team members and creating a culture that enables teams to succeed.  Sound familiar to what it takes to build a committed and cohesive sales team?  It was comforting to hear that one of the best learning institutions in the world addresses this crucial element of success the same way sales organizations must.

 Here are some of the other lessons from my visits:

Lesson 1:  There is time, and then there is military time:  We met at 0600, began our program at 0610 and finished at 0640. I shook hands with this group of majors and corporals as they filed out to go to formation in the square prior to heading to mess hall and then to their first class of the day at 0700.

Cadets pack more stuff in before breakfast than most people do in a day.  It is truly amazing to observe the capacity for work and effort that this group has.  And their intensity is unmatched in anything I’ve ever experienced.  Imagine what you could achieve if you approached your professional career with this kind of intensity.

Lesson 2:  If you want to be good at something, I mean really good at something, desire and commitment alone won’t be enough.  You have to drill, drill, and drill and then drill some more so that you can perform your task with near perfect execution every time. These cadets go through ‘the routine’ of preparing for battle in everything they do, so that when faced with the most difficult scenario, they can perform automatically and with precision.   In selling, you may not think it’s critical, but at the academy, it means someone’s life.

Lesson 3:  If you commit to something because of the desire for great reward (BHAG:  Big Hairy Audacious Goal), you have to be willing to pay a substantial price.  You need to invest.  And not at the level that anyone would be willing to pay.  No, if you want the big reward, you must make the big investment.   These cadets willingly complete their 47 months of training and development knowing that they will be asked to make the ultimate investment.

Lesson 4:  You must have standards of excellence. These standards of excellence rest upon your vision, your mission and your core values. The core values at the academy are Duty, Honor, and Country.  Every cadet lives his or her life by those values.  Those values become their DNA.  As a sales person, how you approach what you do for a living has to be in your DNA.

Lesson 5:  Finally, I learned that the best of any class are the best of any class because of their willingness to learn.  It amazes me that these cadets, one and all, are sponges when it comes to learning.  They devour information.  They ask questions. They ask for clarity.  They want to practice what they’ve learned. They want to execute and implement.  They strive for extraordinary and do not make excuses for failing to meet "agreed to" objectives.  Imagine pursuing your own goals the same way.

My parting thought is this:  As you go about your day today, remember that selling isn’t life or death.  However, if you prepare and have commitment, your approach is based on solid core values, and you execute and work to win with honor, then you will win more than you lose. You will thrive and you will be proud of this business of selling.