It had taken ages to get this meeting with the CEO...
Sean, the sales guy sat down.
At their offices, in a large boardroom overlooking the Thames in London.
Quite an intimidating environment.
After the necessary platitudes they got down to business.
Sean was alone & there were three others alongside the CEO.
The Sales Director, Commercial Director & the Head of Operations.
The conversation started well.
Sean was asking lots of good questions, they were starting to open up.
But the CEO was starting to look a bit twitchy.
He then piped up:
"So tell me Sean - why should we consider you?"
If you'd asked him this a year ago he would've fallen into the trap of pitching, persuading & justifying.
But he knew better these days...
He responded -
"I'm not sure at this point...as I don't yet know enough about your situation to determine if we're right for one another."
And just like that, he got back into the conversation.
But it was the look on the CEOs face.
...he was genuinely taken aback.
Almost as if in that moment, all his power was taken from him.
After the initial confusion, he began to partake more in the meeting.
It seemed he had developed a new found respect for Sean.
He started lowering his defences.
He started to engage.
After another 45 minutes, they were done.
Sean walked out with an order.
He'd understood their biggest problems, the causes and how to fix.
He'd opened their eyes to a new perspective.
And he didn't fall into the trap of classic 'pitch-bait.'
Be more like Sean.
