A Naked Fat Man

Posted on June 09, 2014 by Sherman Burns, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

Although I have had the chance to work with a number of remarkable salespeople, I recently met one who is particularly colorful and very gifted. Let’s call him Ralph. Ralph is in his late 30’s and has developed some highly successful sales techniques, hard to find in sales training literature.

He had been with several major corporations, but when I met him he was working for a software manufacturer in the Midwest. The business was a partnership of four engineers with a desirable product, but lacking marketing and sales skills. They saw Ralph as a savior.

Around the same time Ralph was hired, I was signed on as a consultant to assist them in finding ways to work together more effectively. Since interviewing key players is a standard part of my organizational assessment, I had an initial conversation with Ralph and was very impressed with him. I was even more impressed with the partners for having the courage to hire someone of his caliber who insisted on straight commission. Until now these engineers had been holding the purse strings too tightly – pennywise and pound foolish.

Ralph and I found we had a mutual desire to take this group of smart, well-meaning guys to the next level of success. They had hired four salesmen prior to Ralph, each with the same flaw: all had a significant track record, but were lacking in creativity.

“I had trouble with the dress code at this place until the day I cracked a national account,” Ralph recounted to me, “which all four of my predecessors had repeatedly attempted to gain access to in their proper business attire. One morning, I said to myself, ‘To Heck with it,’ and showed up at the office in a cutoff denim jacket, ragged old jeans and a chain hanging from my pockets. I had plastered several fake tattoos on my arms and wore a ball cap with a ponytail the color of my hair hanging out the back of it.”

Needless to say, the partners went crazy. However, Ralph calmed them, walked out the door, and in one hour was able to get what none of his predecessors could. Ralph had correctly assessed his target – a well-known American motorcycle manufacturer – and had ingratiated himself to them by giving the appearance of being one of them. It was a creative approach and a gamble, to be sure – but it paid off. Ralph never again got grief about his work attire.

Recently I asked this master salesman how he found the energy to keep making cold calls. His secret? “I work out of my basement, which is completely private and closed off from the rest of the house,” confides Ralph. “I lock the only access door so there’s no way to get to me, except by phone. Then I strip down and start calling.

When I get ‘no’s,’ I just laugh to myself that they never know they are talking to a naked fat man.”

Take Aways:

• None of the great ones like Ralph ever stop laughing at themselves. Keep
your sense of humor. There’s a magic in it that not only makes
things bearable, but makes part of your living as well – as demonstrated
so well by my favorite naked fat man.

• Have confidence in your own ideas. If they don’t work, you are one step closer to
one which will.

• Whether you’re selling toothpicks or retirement packages to millionaires,
know your sales target. Do your homework on the organization as well as the
people. Find out what makes them tick, as well as what makes them laugh.

• I’d caution you to make sure you have a basement like Ralph’s, or at least
some thick drapes before you attempt his strategy.