“Show Up & Throw Up Selling”
Can Leave the Wrong Message

When young and too eager for my own good, I used to show up and barf a fusillade of benefits and features that left prospects glassy eyed. It took a while, but I learned that if I talked less and listened more, I did a much better selling job.

At the time, I was assistant sales and advertising manager for one of three companies that pioneered automation for poultry feeding, and egg handling. The three companies competed head to head and with dozens of others that were still doing things the old fashioned way.

Our distribution was both direct and indirect through distributors and dealers. Our sales staff included both company and independent reps. (It sounds like a hodgepodge, but it worked remarkable well.)

From sales calls, trade shows, and sales meetings, I learned that glibness was not an asset. Our most effective reps were those who soaked up more than they spouted out. They were strong closers, but they didn’t rush the deal. When the C.E.O. asked how a particular deal was progressing, they knew. They were tenacious without being obnoxious.

Most of all, they knew our products and their customers and how to find the right hot buttons. And they knew when to shut up.

In the decades since, I’ve made sales calls and worked trade shows with hundreds of talented people. And I’ve stood at the elbow of many others who suffered from my early malady. They showed up and threw up in an attempt to make a perfect pitch when they should have been listening for the right notes.