Book Review: “Seller Activity Is Not Buyer Movement”

 

“Suspending Disbelief is one of those sales books where a lot of the lessons may feel familiar until you experience them through the stories.

 

That’s what Peter Cohan does particularly well.

 

Instead of telling you not to skip discovery, over-demo, make assumptions about the buyer, or keep selling after someone is ready to buy, he lets you watch those behaviors play out and see the consequences. That makes the lessons much harder to forget.

 

“You Know You’ve Already Closed Me” particularly resonated with me. I’m a big believer in diagnosing before prescribing. When a buyer believes you genuinely understand their situation, you’ve created more commercial trust than another twenty minutes talking about your product ever could.

 

But “A Prospect’s Tale” was the standout.

 

What struck me wasn’t simply the contrast between bad discovery and good discovery. It was seeing the seller’s entire operating system from the buyer’s side.

 

With one vendor, there’s plenty of activity. Meetings, demos, proposals, a POC, follow-up. From inside a sales organization, that can look like deal progression.

 

From the buyer’s perspective, almost every additional activity is creating more friction.

 

That distinction matters.

Seller activity is not buyer movement.

 

The contrast with the second buying experience makes the point even stronger. Good discovery doesn’t just produce a better demo. It shapes a better buying process, helps the customer make the internal decision, and carries forward into implementation and value realization.

 

My biggest takeaway from the book is probably this.

 

The seller’s operating system eventually becomes the buyer’s experience.

 

That’s what makes these stories useful. They aren’t simply reminders about better sales technique. They force you to see familiar seller behavior through the eyes of the person sitting on the other side of the table.

 

Well worth the read for anyone in sales, presales, or sales leadership.

 

-       Scott S”

My Favorite Discovery Question…

 

“Here’s my favorite discovery question…”

 

We see posts like this frequently, but they lack context about when, how, where, and why to use the question!

 

When should it be asked? 

 

Should it be asked at the beginning of discovery, somewhere in the middle, or at the end? Is it a key element in a specific flow?

 

How should it be asked? 

 

Is it a simple question about demographics, or seeking to understand a prospect’s workflow, or uncovering key elements of value or culture? 

 

Is it best framed with an analogy, metaphor, or supported with a story?

 

Where should it be asked? 

 

Is it dependent on location or similar factors (e.g., face-to-face vs online)? In the prospect’s office vs a conference room or other location?

 

And why should it be asked? 

 

What is the purpose behind the question? Is it pure query or does it offer a quid pro quo?

 

Let’s take two examples of some of my favorite discovery questions. 

 

First is, “Anything else?”

 

Of course, this needs to follow a prospect’s response to another question! It is a great way to generate a list of wants and needs, using this simple prompt. (Thanks, Mike Bosworth, who first taught its use!)

 

Second example: “Is there anything I haven’t asked that I should be asking?”

 

Clearly, this is a question to use just before the Wrap Up section of your discovery call. It is a terrific way to uncover something you hadn’t considered! Alternatively, it may confirm that you’ve got everything your prospect wants you to know.

 

Methodology provides explicit guides to know Why, When, Where, What, and How to approach elements of discovery!

 

 

Example Methodology Resources:

 

“Anything else?” – See page 82 in Doing Discovery

 

“Is there anything I haven’t asked that I should be asking?” – See page 135

 

And for more on the importance and use of quid pro quo see page 199 in Doing Discovery here:

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/

 

Suspending Disbelief:

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

How Are Demo and Discovery Tips Like a Pile of LEGO Bricks?

 

We see posts like these all the time:

 

    “The 8 Discovery Questions My Best AEs Use”

 

    “My Favorite Demo Tip”

 

    “5 Discovery Must-Haves!”

 

    “Demo Tip of the Day!”

 

    “10 Top Discovery Questions”

 

Individual tips, skills, and short lists of questions are a lot like LEGO bricks. Used by themselves, they are nearly useless and occasionally painful (ever walk on one in your bare feet?).

 

And sticking a few tips and skills together won’t yield the desired result, either! 

 

Connect a few LEGO bricks and you’ll get a strange shape or random blob. Applying individual discovery questions or demo tips gives similar results!

 

Consider how you would go about building those famous LEGO sets, “Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon” (7,541 bricks) or “Titanic” (9,090 bricks).

 

Would you simply start slapping bricks together and see what happens? Likely not!

 

Instead, you follow a structured approach that tells you which subassemblies to build first, then how to build the sections, followed by how they are connected, all using detailed instructions of hundreds of steps.

 

Those instructions are the methodology for building and successfully completing LEGO sets.

 

The same principles are true for creating and delivering compelling demos, and when having discovery conversations. Combining a few tips, techniques, and unaligned skills may produce a painful result: A Millennium Falcon that can’t get off the ground or a Titanic that heads straight for the bottom, no iceberg needed!

 

Will employing a tip help? Maybe. But it you want to enjoy accelerated progress to best practices, pursue methodology.

 

Only by following a proven methodology can success be assured!

 

 

Example Methodology Resources:

 

Doing Discovery:

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/

 

Suspending Disbelief:

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

An Amusing Example of Skills vs Methodology

 

Brushing your teeth!

 

Skills include:

 

1.     Opening the tube of toothpaste

2.     Putting toothpaste on the brush

3.     Brushing

4.     Rinsing the brush

 

Pretty simple!

 

But what happens if you change the order, such as:

 

1.     Rinsing the brush

2.     Brushing

3.     Putting toothpaste on the brush

4.     Opening the tube of toothpaste

 

Not quite as effective…!

 

And, of course, there are questions like:

 

-       What kind/brand of toothpaste?

-       How much toothpaste to use?

-       How long to brush?

-       Manual or electric?

-       What kind of motion(s) to use?

-       When do you need to replace the brush?

-       How much post-brushing rinsing to do?

 

Skills on their own are not enough.

 

A stepwise process helps but still leaves much unaddressed:

 

-       When should I brush?

-       What should I brush?

-       Where should I brush?

-       How should I brush?

-       Why should I brush?

 

It is methodology that provides the full set of answers!

 

Now, contemplate a set of demo skills vs a demonstration methodology: a set of skills on their own are not sufficient to answer the full set of questions. The result is ineffective demos.

 

And contemplate a set of discovery skills vs a discovery methodology: same challenge. The result is poor discovery.

 

Methodology provides the full set of answers!

 

(Now, don’t forget to brush your teeth…!)

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors in Demos and Discovery – Part 8: A Metaphorical, Analogous Summary

 

The strength of memories is like a spider web: the more attachments and connections, the stronger the web. A fact is like a single strand attaching an idea to a single support. It’s a tenuous connection, easily blown away by weather or other disturbances. 

 

Analogies and metaphors build a more memorable structure by linking more strands, connections, and supports. They can weather the storm much more successfully than facts alone. 

 

Finally, stories offer the stoutest components, imbedding your idea in a complete web to secure the memory against the wind and weather of time.

 

I hope this series of posts stimulates you to produce sturdy silk to spin your web of concepts!

 

 

Resources:

 

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors 

in Demos and Discovery Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 6, and 7:

https://greatdemo.com/blog/ 

 

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

https://tinyurl.com/24m4m5jm

 

Effective Storytelling in Discovery, Demos, and More

https://greatdemo.com/effective-storytelling-in-discovery-demos-and-more-a-never-stop-learning-article/

 

Examples of Metaphors:

https://blog.udemy.com/metaphor-list/ 

 

Examples of Analogies:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/analogy 

 

Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

Doing Discovery:

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/

 

Visual Aids and Props:

https://greatdemo.com/remarkable-demos-what-makes-a-demo-truly-memorable/

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors in Demos and Discovery – Part 7: What NOT to Do!

 

Beware the Morass of Mixed Metaphors

 

This post is designed to be both informative and fun!

 

Metaphors and analogies are terrific but can be risky if applied haphazardly. Mixed metaphors can be more distracting than useful, particularly if your audience focuses on trying to “decode” the metaphor as opposed to achieving understanding.

 

Mixed metaphors (and awkward analogies) cause confusion, not clarity. Where great metaphors and analogies serve as smooth, paved highways to comprehension, mixed metaphors are like trying to navigate a trackless swamp, struggling step by step through a murky, muddy quagmire!

 

Here are a few sadly amusing examples of mixed metaphors for your inspection: Vote for the worst or best, depending on your point of view! These are all real, captured from various demo and discovery recordings, blogs, and articles:

 

“All too often we relegate the demo to the ‘been there, done that’ corner, content to put into practice all of the tired, tried and possibly true techniques that will get us in the door but see us coming up short when it comes down to closing with confidence and power. Today we’ll examine some of the practices that can be tossed out with tomorrow’s trash, and look at ways to pump up our demo game.”

 

This mixed metaphorical mélange starts in a corner, moves to the door, then gets tossed and finally pumped. A busy afternoon! Next?

 

“While it may seem like good sense to cover all your bases, throwing too much at your prospect actually weakens your message. Even a short diversion from focus can confuse the issue and cause your prospect to tune out during an otherwise stellar case. You make your prospect do all the work of picking out and remembering the most relevant pieces.”

 

“Cover bases, throw too much…” OK, so far so good, but then the baseball analogy gets rained out under a downpour of “…focus, tune out, stellar case, picking out pieces.” Next candidate?

 

“With these ideas in your back pocket, you can break through to the toughest of clients and keep your organization firing on all cylinders no matter how much of a time crunch you are in.”

 

Brief, but packed! “Back pocket, break through, fire on all cylinders, time crunch.” I think this is the winner so far. And I really want to see someone breaking through with their back pocket while firing on all cylinders, don’t you? Ready for another?

 

"And like the U.N. Security Council Members, it only takes one veto to kill an entire deal. Because of the proliferation of stakeholders needed to approve a deal to get it off the ground, a sure thing can become dead in the water long after the sales cycle seems over."

 

Better equip the Security Council with both wings and fins! Another?

 

"Our reps use our … platform which provides the toolset they need to spread your compelling sales message and get those who buy in the wiggle room they need for others to sign off on their decision."

 

This one mixes a bad case of rampaging pronouns with toolsets and wiggle rooms! One more?

 

"Modern decision-makers have a million things to take care of, so even a small objection or a momentary scheduling snag can threaten to eject them out of your funnel as their plate fills up with other priorities."

 

Wow, just breathtaking! The moral? Choose your words carefully and build your metaphors thoughtfully.

 

Interestingly, ChatGPT (and its brethren) will generate mixed metaphors, depending on the nature of the prompts. For now, have a human proof the final drafts!

 

 

Resources:

 

The Power of Analogies and Metaphors 

in Demos and Discovery Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6:

https://greatdemo.com/blog/ 

 

Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die

https://tinyurl.com/24m4m5jm

 

Effective Storytelling in Discovery, Demos, and More

https://greatdemo.com/effective-storytelling-in-discovery-demos-and-more-a-never-stop-learning-article/

 

Examples of Metaphors:

https://blog.udemy.com/metaphor-list/ 

 

Examples of Analogies:

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/analogy 

 

Suspending Disbelief: A Collection of Sales, Presales, 

and Marketing Stories (and Lessons Learned)

https://tinyurl.com/yc7rsrmy 

 

Doing Discovery:

https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/

 

Great Demo! Third Edition:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C9SNKC2Y/

 

Visual Aids and Props:

https://greatdemo.com/remarkable-demos-what-makes-a-demo-truly-memorable/