For Craftsmen, Failure is the Key to Success

Guy Kawasaki recommends the following video from Honda on failure as the new key to success. A great illustration of ideas from Gladwell + Sennett on what builds craftsmanship.

By extension, anything that can hasten the discovery of failures, will hasten the emergence of craftsmanship and tommorrow's superstars. Imagine the value of being able to hasten discoveries, and build craftsmanship, in sales.

The Craftsmanship of B2B Sales Superstars

Why are some sales people such superstars? There’s an emerging theory that it’s because they’ve practiced the craft of selling often enough, and from such practice learned so much, that they’re bound to be exceptionally successful. They’re craftsmen.

In his study of success, Gladwell finds that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of extraordinary opportunities that allow them to learn and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Gladwell contends that it takes 10,000 hours (the equivalent of 10 years) of practice for people to learn from experience the things they need to know in order to reach their full potential in their work. He explains his perspectives in this interview.

His ideas echo Richard Sennett’s on craftsmanship where “the work of the hand informs the work of the mind. It's how craftsmen learn to work.” From their repeated experiences, craftsmen develop an 'intelligent hand'. They are willing to put in years of practice and, armed with what’s learned from such practice, embrace ambiguity with "techniques of experience". In a review of his recent book, the NY Times does a brilliant job of summarizing Sennett's ideas on craftsmanship.

In this model of sales as a craft, sales superstars earn more because they’ve learned more. By extension, the key to having more superstars on a sales team is to create extraordinary opportunities for everyone to get quickly to 10,000 hours of practice, then help members of the team learn ‘techniques of experience’ from each other.

A Fish Finder for Sales Reps: It's About Time

It’s typically hard, if not impossible, for a Sales Rep to know when might be the best time to call a new prospect. This means many calls are typically wasted on prospects who either aren’t interested in a call or ready for a callback. Prospects become hard to reach. When reached, they’re reluctant to chat, especially with a Sales Rep whom they don’t know that well. This makes the job of fishing for new business especially time consuming and exhausting. It becomes an effort-laden guessing game. It’s emotionally draining work which can sap the very energy Reps need to sustain their efforts and reach their quotas.

When ‘fish’ are elusive, Reps typically have two responses: try harder, and learn new sales skills. A Rep who spends more time with their line in the water may feel good (“I’m trying, harder than ever before”), but it is no guarantee of landing their quota. Similarly, if a Rep keeps returning to the same fishing hole, with better bait, and improved casting skills, yet there are no longer any fish in the hole, they’re wasting their time. Worse than that, they won’t even know it.

B2B Sales Reps deserve a break. They need more time for selling and help investing their time wisely. They need a “fish finder”. Give them an effective “fish finder” and they’ll have more chances to show their true fishing skills. Most, when given the chance, will shine. With a properly calibrated "fish finder", Reps know:
• which prospects are interested,
• what, specifically, each is interested in, and
• the relative urgency of each prospect’s interests

There are no more wasted calls to prospects who aren’t interested in or ready for a callback. Reps no longer waste time dangling their fish lines into an empty fishing hole. As a result, Reps become more productive. They have more conversations with prospects every week and close more deals in less time.

Reps’ results from using a fish finder can be magical. One of our clients routinely interrupts calls with us with the admonition: “Gotta go. Fish on the line.” He gets an emotional charge every time he gets the feedback of a conversation well done (it was so useful to the prospect that they chose to consume the details emailed to them following the conversation). Sales, for him, isn’t energy sapping; it’s energizing.

Once energized, skilled fishers, as craftsmen, respond professionally to the feedback they get. As they do so, they build momentum to reap further rewards. Their callbacks to interested prospects resonate as timely and helpful. So much so that prospects take the Rep’s calls. Productive, helpful conversations ensue. Prospects commit ever larger chunks of their time to the process as they get to know and trust the Rep. Conversations convert to cash.