Three-Dimensional Selling
Are you a one, two or three dimensional seller?
And what is the difference between each dimension?
The difference between each dimension is the research conducted ahead of time by the seller and how it’s leveraged to have a business conversation vs. a sales conversation.
If you can picture a 1D object i.e.: a straight line, it is flat and lacks depth and complexity. Many prospecting emails lack depth and complexity and sound like this:
“I am wondering if you are the person in charge of booking hotels in our area. We are interested in providing rates for your company and would like to partner with you in the coming year.”
A 2D object like a square, has shape and shows length and width. A 2D sales approach demonstrates some thought but not enough to motivate the buyer to respond. It sounds something like:
“I understand your company has business in our area and given our proximity to your job site, along with our newly renovated rooms and free breakfast, we feel we would be a good fit.”
An example of a 3D object is a cube which has both breadth and depth. In my experience, very few emails are written from this perspective.
If sellers want to rise above the noise and cut through all the clutter that a buyer has to sift through in a day, they need to have breadth and depth in their sales execution.
A 3D sales approach would sound something like this:
“Congratulations on being awarded the bridge rehabilitation project in ABC town. We’ve had the pleasure of hosting Bobby Smith and Suzy Keller while they have been in town working on the initial phase of the project.
We understand from Bobby and Suzy that construction will begin in the next 90 days and you will be bringing in out-of-town contractors for the project.
Given the many things you have on your plate, we would be happy to put together accommodation recommendations and provide your crew with a home away from home experience.
We have extensive experience taking care of clients who are away from home for an extended period. They appreciate our well-lit truck parking, our rooms with kitchenettes, and our complimentary hot breakfast that is available at 5:30 am.
Are you available this week to further discuss how I can take care of this part of your project for you?”
As sales teams and leaders look ahead to the rest of the year, it’s important to know what good looks like when it comes to sales execution.
It’s the difference between playing chess or checkers.
