How to Pitch a Mr. Know-It-All
Sometimes when you pitch your products or services, you will encounter Mr. Know-It-All. No matter what you ask about his company, he will say he already has it solved. You can tell you are dealing with a “know it all” by his demeanor, often arrogant and sometimes even belligerent – you can see his colleagues reluctant to go to battle with him. His subordinates stay quiet for fear of being ridiculed.
In the early days of the Internet when I was building my first company,GovCon, a business development portal for government contractors, I was asked to present some technical options to the CEO of a 1,000-person firm. He brought my company in because we had a very strong reputation for helping government contractors like his. He had the reputation of being tough as nails and I wasn’t looking forward to the meeting.
As we started the dialog, I asked about their issues and was met very quickly with Mr. Know-It-All responses. He had a quip for every turn I took. So I finally asked him this:
- I can see that you have a lot of these issues in good hands. So, what were you hoping to address by having me come here today?
This completely turned the tables. Instead of shooting down everything I said, this question gave him the opportunity to stop attacking and start opening up. At the same time, it acknowledged his need for showing off that he had most of his issues already under control.
Some people delude themselves into thinking that the solution they have implemented is the cat’s meow. If you know you can offer a better option, use this two-part question set to diffuse a Mr. Know-It-All encounter:
- How is that working out for you?
- Are you getting all of the results you want from that solution?
These questions usually force them to acknowledge their problem areas, giving you the chance to delve deeper into ways you can help. If you have several people in the meeting, you will see some of them bring up topics on their minds.
You can find a list of other questions to ask in different sales scenarios in Presstacular's free guide to IT sales questions. When you start asking the right questions, people will open up to you because quite often nobody has ever asked them before. This approach allows you to find opportunities and turn prospects into clients by offering ways to make their businesses better. You become a trusted partner, not just a vendor.
Well said Raj! Reading your article offered me solace from the daily cold call push back similar to your analogy. For example. Right after a domestic partner shooting at a local busines's parking lot, I called with the right introduction including that we were members of the same chamber of commerce. I was floored when the HR person said it they had it under control and that the shooting was a police matter and not a workplace security matter.
Owner/CEO at For Kids By Parents, Inc.
9yWell said Raj! Thanks for the insight.
Raj: I very much like these two questions, and how you have explained it in context. You could also use a flavor of them at the beginning of a sales engagement, saying, 'when I researched your company, I saw that you are doing very well with [Metric 1], [Metric 2], and [strategy initiative 1]." Then, follow with your second question. I think it helps elevate the prospect's opinion of himself or herself, and shows you have a keen curiosity about the company, and aren't making any assumptions that they already need your product or service.