An airplane is a surprisingly effective place to study how poorly people introduce themselves. If you鈥檙e hunting for what not to do in sales, air travel is like a safari to the Serengeti where half-blind, three-legged lions stumble after gazelles.
It鈥檚 a live-action documentary of missed opportunities鈥攁nd, considering more than 600,000 businesses die each year, more than a few starving creatures.
Last Friday, I found myself in the aisle seat of exit row 16 on a 10:09 a.m. flight from LaGuardia to DFW. I was returning from a strategic selling workshop with an 麻豆传媒 firm near New York City. The agenda included goal setting, time management, pipeline management, and intelligent introductions.听听听
Now, if you think it unnecessary to conduct an exercise where the entire sales team scripts out their introductions, I鈥檇 encourage you to reconsider. Here鈥檚 why.听听
After meeting hundreds of sales professionals during my days in purchasing at PulteGroup and coaching thousands more since, I can report most salespeople trip over the very first step toward earning a new opportunity.
Whether it鈥檚 on a job site, the Serengeti, or a 747, most sales reps stink at intelligent introductions.
As my fellow exit row passengers exchanged the usual chitchat, I felt a mindless self-introduction looming.
Then, I heard this:
Middle Seat: So, what kind of work do you do?
Window Seat: You ever walk into a building and realize you have no phone reception?
Middle Seat: (chuckles) Yeah, all the time.
Window Seat: We solve that problem in older office buildings and wealthy clients in older homes.
Middle Seat: Hmm. We need that in our building.
Window Seat: Okay then, here鈥檚 my card. That鈥檚 my cell listed there. We work 24/7/365鈥攂ecause buildings don鈥檛 care about holidays, and neither do we.
If the TSA allowed me to travel with confetti cannons, I would have set them all off.听 This alpha male over here in 16A 鈥攖his Mufasa of intelligent introductions!鈥攚asn鈥檛 blind at all.
In just three sentences, Window expertly executed our Feel鈥揔now鈥揇o Next framework鈥攁n approach that delivers intelligent introductions.
But first, it鈥檚 worth examining what he 诲颈诲苍鈥檛 do: He 诲颈诲苍鈥檛 mention his company鈥檚 name, headquarters, founding date, or how many offices they had. He 诲颈诲苍鈥檛 use jargon like high-frequency dB loss, RF propagation, bi-directional amplifiers, or Faraday cages.
Window knew Middle 诲颈诲苍鈥檛 care.
What Middle was really asking was, 鈥淒o you do anything interesting that might help me, my business, or someone I care about?鈥�
Window passed the test by doing three things:
- He made Middle feel something鈥攆rustration over spotty reception.
- He let him know he could fix that pain鈥攁nd which specific customer segments he specialized in serving.
- He gave him something to do next鈥攖ake the business card and follow up.
Middle examined the business card while simultaneously feeling for his phone. After locating it, he texted Window on the spot and said, 鈥淚鈥檓 texting you my cell. Call me next Thursday afternoon.鈥�
Turns out Middle owns a healthcare company in Dallas, the office building it works out of (with terrible cell service), as well as a 1930s home in the swanky Preston Hollow neighborhood with the same problem.
From building receptivity to building materials听
This Feel-Know-Do Next framework is just one of the mental models we teach in the OSR Academy, our 12-month online/offline sales development program. The OSR Academy helps sales managers improve their coaching and accountability skills while simultaneously helping sales reps increase their confidence in generating new sales.听听听听
Here are three examples from participants in the OSR Academy as they worked through the Feel-Know-Do Next framework.听
Example 1: Sales Manager on the west coast听听听
Builder: So, what do you do?
Sales Manager: You ever get ticked off from poor communication or a lack of follow through from your suppliers? Materials show up late, products missing, some are damaged. [FEEL] That ever happen to you?听
Builder: Of course.
Sales Manager:听 Well, we wake up every day with a passion to solve those issues for builders just like you. We鈥檙e proactive in communication and we act as free project managers, working directly with your framers to simplify your life. [KNOW]听听
Builder: Okay.
Sales Manager:听 I don鈥檛 know if we鈥檇 be a fit, but I鈥檇 be happy to grab a coffee or a beer with you next week. I鈥檒l ask a few questions and share some unique ways we save builders time and frustration. Do you want to do that?听 [DO NEXT]听听
Example 2: Sales Rep in the Carolinas听听听
Sales Rep: You ever show up to the job and feel like a lumber bomb went off? Material all over the place, you can鈥檛 tell what is missing, but you see some is already damaged? [FEEL]
Builder: (Pointing at his home under construction) You mean like this one?听
Sales Rep:听 Well, yeah. Builders call me when they鈥檙e pissed off from crappy communication from sales reps who think their job is to take orders and doordash a dozen donuts. While I may look young, my success is due to showing up on your jobs and diffusing bombs before you even know about them. [KNOW]听听
Builder: Alright.
Sales Rep:听 Let鈥檚 meet here on Friday at 7 am. We can walk the job and I can ask a few questions to see if we鈥檙e a fit. What do you say? [DO NEXT]听听
This script has helped this young OSR land 5鈥�7 meetings with new prospects every week. As of May, he鈥檚 opened more new accounts than anyone else on the team鈥攁nd he鈥檚 32 percent ahead of his sales pace.
Example 3: Our script for the OSR Academy听听听
Hartmann: 麻豆传媒 dealers call us when they鈥檙e unhappy with their sales performance. Sales managers struggle to hold the sales reps accountable and want help coaching. Meanwhile, sales reps babysit their best customers and allow non-selling activities to chew up all their time instead of prospecting for new business. Anyone come to mind like that on your team? [FEEL]
You: Umm, yeah.听
Hartmann:听 Five years ago, we created the OSR Academy by collaborating with dealers just like you and our fourth cohort starts in September. I lead a Sales Manager Peer Advisory Group that meets monthly, and sales reps get 12-months of 麻豆传媒-specific sales training鈥攐nline and offline鈥攆rom guest faculty that includes owners of home building companies. [KNOW]听听
You: Alright.
Hartmann:听 You can to see a bunch of testimonials from past students and executives who made the investment. And/or you can听 to see if the OSR Academy is a fit for you. Will you do that? [DO NEXT]听听
Most reps introduce themselves like those half-blind lions on the Serengeti鈥攚andering, wheezy, and easy to ignore. But every so often, you see a sales hunter who鈥檚 sharp, focused, and hungry.
Next time someone asks what you do, don鈥檛 stumble. Make them feel the pain, let them know you solve it, and offer a clear next step.听听
Be that lion.
Thanks for reading and best of luck selling,
Bradley
Cohort IV of the OSR Academy opens for registration on June 9, 2025. If you are unhappy with your sales performance at the team or individual level, here is an intentional choice to get different results. Hope is a poor strategy and high-performance selling isn鈥檛 magic.听听and learn more about听.
Sales Leaders鈥擬anagers and Executives: for a free, live 麻豆传媒 Sales Manager Mini-Workshop on June 17th at 1 PM CT led by Bradley Hartmann. You鈥檒l walk away with a clear understanding of how the OSR Academy drives real, measurable results.
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