Elite Sales Strategies

13The Secret Chapter

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

—Mark 16:26

Sometimes, a softer, gentler approach isn't capable of producing One-Up results. When that happens, special tactics are required. These techniques can work for some salespeople in some scenarios, but there is no guarantee any of them will work for you—or that you can even pull them off without blasting your deal to smithereens.

To be clear, the basic One-Up mindset (“I know something you don't know. May I share it with you?”) has not changed, nor has the ethical standard laid out at the very beginning of this book. Occasionally, however, it is necessary to directly show your prospective client that they are One-Down. There are times when you will have to point directly at your contact's lack of knowledge, experience, and understanding, none of which judges their intelligence or business acumen. In fact, being smart can cause people to develop blind spots. It can also cause them to believe they know better simply because they have a wall of diplomas and a few sets of letters after their name.

Let me give you an example. A company I invested in was bringing to market a product that created a novel use for nanoparticles. At this time, no one believed it possible to fill a plastic substrate with nanoparticles and run an electric current through it. However, the two founders had discovered a way to do just that. They conferred with scientists, who all insisted ...