The Four Faces of Sales

Julie, a dynamic salesperson, seemed to be getting close to signing a new account. Everything appeared to be going well … but then a problem arose. The sales process stalled at a critical time, right before the close. Fortunately, Julie had enough personal value currency to seal the deal. Before you learn how to make the Four Faces of Sales work for you, read this case study to see how it played out for Julie.
I was sitting at my desk at the busy software company I'd started with three partners, mulling over a thorny problem. Business was booming, and in my position as the vice president of sales and marketing, I was proud to be playing a pivotal role in making that happen. But on this particular day, I'd received some unpleasant and puzzling news. I leaned back in my chair and stared out the window at the gleaming skyscrapers of Manhattan. The rain and gloom of the day matched my mood.
I kept asking myself what I could have done differently to prevent a major deal from slipping away. It was the last day of the quarter, and there seemed to be little hope for turning things around. I envisioned what was sure to be a painful conversation with my CEO. And what was I going to tell my salesperson, Julie? Earlier that morning, she had knocked on my door with the bad news.
"They're not returning my calls," Julie said.
“What do you mean, they’re not returning your calls? Who is not returning your calls?” I replied.
“Bob Glaser, Anne Worthington, all of them,” Julie responded with a tone halfway between frustration and desperation. “For months, we’ve had very responsive communication with each other. Then I called Bob on Friday morning to confirm I was meeting him in the afternoon to get the order, and he didn’t return my call. Anne is not responding either. I left them two more messages between Friday afternoon and yesterday and nothing,” Julie added. “What do you suppose is going on?”
I knew all about Julie’s sales opportunity. She had spent the better part of five months on this deal, one that represented more than a third of my quarterly forecast. We knew our competition had the deal in their crosshairs as well, but everything seemed to be lining up perfectly for another win. But now this? Why? After weeks of negotiation and open communication, just silence from the customer—a communication blackout.
None of it seemed to make any sense. After all, I had met Bob and Anne, the two key decision stakeholders, several times, and they’ d told me that they preferred our solution over the competition’s. I remembered their remarks about how “prepared, professional, and responsive” Julie had been throughout the many months of dialogue and meetings. As I reflected on what the customer said, it occurred to me that Julie had earned trust and credibility (personal value currency) in their eyes in a number of ways:
• Julie had cold-called and pointed out that the customer would become more operationally efficient by using a new technology. She created personal value currency with this initial call to gain access. She played the role of sleuth by uncovering an emerging problem and alerting the customer.
• She held a series of meetings to coauthor the customer’s vision of improved productivity. She increased her personal value currency by the way she handled the customer during meetings. She played the role of doctor, asking questions to help the customer articulate thoughts on the current situation.
• Julie presented her solution, one that offered new perspectives and ideas on the best way to accomplish the customer’s goal with our product. She overflowed her personal value currency based on how she listened and presented her solution in the context of what she heard. She played the role of quarterback by challenging the customer to think different.
There was one important phase of the Four Faces that was missing: the hero.
I knew what we had to do. This was the time to spend the personal value currency that Julie accumulated when she acted as sleuth, doctor, and quarterback. It was time to get in front of the customer and ask for the order.
“We’re going in,” I said.
Julie had a puzzled look on her face, but I knew she didn’t have any better suggestions. Certainly, my decision to crash in on the customer unannounced could backfire. However, I had a hunch that our high trust and credibility levels made it worth the risk. I hoped this was like having money in the bank that Julie had deposited, in small amounts at a time, over the five months of working with the customer. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I believed it was time to make a bold move to see if all that Julie had earned would help close the sale.
By the time we made our way through midtown traffic to the main office of our customer—sleek twenty-two-story building in Manhattan’s financial district—the rain had stopped, but gray clouds were still thick in the noon sky. As we stepped off the nineteenth-floor elevators into the main reception area, I caught a glimpse of a meeting taking place just off to the left of the reception desk. And there was Bob Glaser, standing up, talking to a group of about eight executives. He didn’t see us arrive, and my nerves kicked in. What would he think of us just showing up?
Just then, Bob turned and saw us sitting in the reception area. He motioned to the others that he was going to step out for a minute, came out of the conference room, and walked over to where we were sitting, a look of bewilderment on his face.
“Hi, Bob, it’s good to see you.” Julie said. “I brought my VP here to discuss your proposal.”
“Julie and I thought we’d stop by to check on the status of your commitment to the solution we’ve proposed to you and to make sure there’s nothing standing in the way of us working together.” I added, shaking his hand.
“Come with me.” was all Bob said.
With that, we were ushered into the conference room. Anne Worthington smiled and shook our hands, but everyone else was new to us. It was clear that despite Bob’s invitation, the group only had a few minutes of time for such an unexpected interruption.
“We were actually just talking about some of the new technology we’re bringing onboard. In fact, why don’t you say hello to a few other folks on our executive team. You can help me assure them that we’re making the right decision with your solution,” Bob said. “You have five minutes.”
Gulp.
I introduced Julie and myself, quickly recounted our shared five-month journey, and asked if the group believed our product was the best solution to their problem. Going around the room, the executives all had similar answers that our product was a good fit. However, when asked if they were ready to move forward with us, some had questions. One executive expressed a concern that a more established product (my competitor) had offered a better price for a similar solution. It was like finding gold to learn this.
I calmly responded to their questions for the next four minutes, in the end helping them to conclude that their concerns were nonissues.