Isn’t chutzpah just another way of saying no guts, no glory in sales?
Call it moxie, courage, guts, or chutzpah. Call it what you will. But you better use it to regularly call on prospects if you want to attract high-paying clients.
Isn’t chutzpah just another way of saying no guts, no glory in sales?
“That’s part of chutzpah, and the full set of behaviors can lead to positive or negative actions; it depends on the person’s mindset,” says Mason Harris, an author, speaker and trainer, who is also known by the nickname, “The Chutzpah Guy.”
Harris believes you can teach anyone to sell. We met when I helped him edit a book about chutzpah, a Yiddish word meaning confidence or courage. Although his background is New York City and Jewish, Harris has found every audience he has spoken to within the United States, from Oklahoma to Montana, has their own terms for chutzpah like gumption, grit and intestinal fortitude.
“Chutzpah is part of the technical side of pursuing leads, persuading new clients, and uncovering new prospects,” says Harris. “The more difficult and overlooked issues for managers and leaders relate to motivating creative prospecting and the extraordinary efforts that change an average salesperson into a top performer.”
The same is true if you are an independent consultant or professional and you need to motivate yourself to pursue business development on a regular basis.
Harris says chutzpah behaviors help sales and business leaders in multiple areas:
Lead Development. Prospecting can be emotionally exhausting for many. “Engaging in conversation with a prospect is one of the more fundamental parts of selling,” says Harris. “The challenge is getting to the conversation, as too many salespeople give up due to the difficulties of getting prospects on the phone. Yes, ‘just pick up the phone’ or ‘use LinkedIn’ are easy but frustrating ways to uncover the right prospects. However, these tactics work hand-in-hand with my foundational chutzpah behavior of carpe diem, seize the day.”
Uncovering Need And Pain. “These are important chutzpah behaviors, and measurable strengths in our best performers,” says Harris. “These are especially in contrast to the order-taker who doesn’t know how to move to the next level. All salespeople ask questions; the elite know how to turn an expressed need into a recognized pain that requires a better solution. New opportunities occur when an experienced person truly thinks about stretching the boundaries as to who else’s pains can be solved, and whose budget will unexpectedly help pay for your solution.
The Ability To Zigzag. Being able to reverse field around seemingly insurmountable objections relates to persistence. “Sometimes it’s a different economic buyer in the same organization that will see the extreme benefit, and the pain reduction you are offering,” says Harris. “Other times we need to move on from an organization, possibly temporarily but maybe permanently, because of their buying culture. If a win-win scenario is not evident, it’s okay to find another customer and it’s in your self-interest. The chutzpah-oriented person knows that every day someone will benefit from their first call.”
My view is you need all the moxie, gumption and chutzpah you can muster for the grind to contact prospects. Maybe only one out of 20 are interested in what you offer. You need to be courageous to find that 5% through business development tactics like phone calls, networking, emails and outreach via LinkedIn.
