Why Calling High is Scary

[rifat28dddd]

As you can imagine, most of our clients had been in business for decades and had legacy systems in place that were just as old. I vividly recall one experience where I was helping kick off a discovery session with a manufacturer of heavy-duty construction equipment. The boardroom was full of executives and as the discussion got going, one of them turned to me and said with a smile on his face, “I bet we have systems in place here that are older than you!”. A chuckle spread around the room.

The phenomenon I experienced that day is what I call experience asymmetry, and not only is it extremely common, but it can be a highly disruptive force for modern sellers. Let me explain.



Most sales cycles start with a conversation between peru telegram data two people. But not two equal peers.

The customer is often a senior decision maker. The seller is typically a younger, newer, or generally less experienced rep who’s never done the customer’s job.
This asymmetry of experience between buyer and seller can present a variety of challenges. On one hand, the customer is wary about talking to salespeople in the first place. Not to mention being skeptical about what they can learn from a seller (especially a younger seller) about how to run their business. On the other hand, the seller is trying to figure out how they can punch above their weight, quickly establish credibility, and add enough value for the buyer to want to take the next step.

But in my boardroom confrontation, I was determined! I was young but this wasn’t my first big time discovery session. Not only did I know my solution cold but having worked with many similar organizations during my tenure, I was intimately familiar with many of the legacy challenges similar companies had when it came to their operation.

In the hours that followed I used the tactics outlined below to slam the door on any perceived value gap in my experience. By the end, the same executive turned to the group and said “Wow, you know what? I think if we had an older guy come in to tell us about the latest technology, we wouldn’t have believed him!”. So never fear! If, as a seller, you find yourself in an environment where experience asymmetry is prevalent, what you say and how you say it when calling high can have a huge impact on your success.