25 Jan 07 Dan “The Man”

Danilo Bogdanovic and I had some back and fourth related to my last post, “The Fear.” Danilo ended up writing a comment that I thought deserved some expansion in another blog post:

“…with more power being given to the consumer via technology and transparency, agents will turn into guides and consultants rather than information gate-keepers as they have traditionally been.”

This quote brings me to my point: Dan “The Man!” I was in software sales for a great company called Webroot Software (makers of Spy Sweeper, and Spy Sweeper Enterprise), and-while Webroot was/is the clear leader in the anti-spyware category-the competition became almost overwhelmingly fierce. With so much money at stake, it became a mud slinging contest between the companies competing for business. And, on top of this, everyone was producing so much information, and propaganda, that the losers were the customers, forced into piles of research, data, info, and choices. Here is an example where complete and utter against the grain sales comes into play, and how disintegration of real estate info might actually play as a strength for real estate pros.

My good friend Dan is a no BS guy. We became friends because we had similar styles, and outlooks on what a sales position is. For me, I have to feel like what I am selling truly helps people: otherwise, there is no way I could sell it. But Dan, on the other hand, did things that I considered completely insane. I mean this guy was helpful to a fault…I was sure of it. Someone would call in, and start asking Dan about our product(s). He would politely answer questions, bend over backwards to help out, and (here is the kicker) tell his potential customers which competing products they should check out before making a decision to buy Webroot’s. At this point in time, customers literally had hundreds of solutions to choose from, and he would cut through all the crap for them, and name the top 2 or 3 worthy of a look. The result was amazing!

Dan closed more business than any salesperson I have even known (both in total transactions, and dollar amount). The people that he told to go look at other solutions didn’t want to: they wanted to buy what Dan was selling…the Dan experience. We truly did have the best products, we believed it, and we controlled the experience for people that needed help with a lot of conflicting information. I cannot tell you the lesson I took from this: it’ll never leave me. Competing negatively (talking badly about competitors) is a NO NO. Throwing competitive information at customers that forces them deeper into the abyss (a more difficult decision) is a bigger NO NO. Guiding the buying/selling experience, in the most efficient way possible, is helping…or shall we say “sales.”