Sandler Rule Seventeen: The Professional Does What He Did as a Dummy - On Purpose

In my continuing series on the Sandler Rules, let’s talk about Sandler rule number seventeen, “The professional does what he did as a dummy— on purpose.”

As a beginner, you ask a lot of questions.

You might feel kind of silly, at first. But, asking questions benefits you.

You learn a lot and, more importantly, you learn specifics that will help you in the future.

As you learn more, you become smarter. (I know, shocking.)

But the problem comes later on, when you start acting “smart.”

When you know a lot about a subject, such as your sales process, you assume that you will have all the answers instead of first listening to the question. And while you might be smart, you need to act dumb.

I’ve found that there is an inverse relationship between how much knowledge you have and how much you listen. There’s a tendency for people to jump to conclusions. Salespeople start solving and selling instead of learning and listening.

Here’s an example with my daughter.

For those who don’t know, I used to be a chef, so I’m pretty good in the kitchen.

When my daughter got her first apartment, she asked me to help her learn how to cook.

I could have easily picked out recipes and made them while she watched. But I didn’t.

I asked her what she wanted to make and I helped show her techniques and gave her tips I’d picked up over the years.

Now how does that example relate to acting dumb?

Say I picked out Brussels sprouts to make. She doesn’t like them, wouldn’t have eaten them, and probably would have been disengaged the whole time. But when she picked mashed potatoes (which is just mashing potatoes!) she learned something new, we both had a fun time, and I learned new things about my daughter.

The same thing applies to prospects and clients.

If you choose for or push certain strategies on them, without their input, they won’t be interested in the outcome and will not put in the work.

But if you take the time, ask the questions, and act like a dummy, you’ll get to know your client, what they need, and how you can help. In turn, that’ll make you a better salesperson.

If you learn anything through this post, I hope it’s this: My daughter hates Brussels sprouts.

Just kidding.

I hope you know that acting dumb, in the right situations, actually makes you smarter.