Episode #73: Sell The Sizzle Not The Steak

I recently saw a documentary sponsored by Salesforce called The Story of Sales. There were 8 chapters in this documentary: What is sales; the evolution of sales; educating salespeople; what makes a great salesperson; making a connection; technology’s impact on sales; the future of sales and sales is great. It was very comprehensive and featured a number of American gurus on the subject. In one part, they showed an old movie of a sales trainer talking about “Sell The Sizzle Not the Steak”. We have all heard this mantra before, but is it true today?

I was thinking about that sizzle part. Which bit is the sizzle? Who thinks it is sizzling? Is there only one sizzle? In sales, we can wax lyrical about the steak, its quantity, quality, provenance and we can get enthusiastic about the sizzle. The problem with all of this though is we are making some major assumptions.

What if they don’t eat meat? The whole sales construct is out the window right there. Did we ask them at the start if they were predators or herbivores? Did we find out if they eat steak? Maybe they prefer lamb or game or seafood – did we check? Or did we just launch into our fluent, dynamic, convincing, extremely well polished and attractive pitch?

Now talking about the sizzle makes a lot of sense, because this is the application of the benefit of the features. The features would be the cut of the steak, the number of grams, the degree of fat marbling, whether grass fed or grain fed, the origin and safety of the beast. We could talk about the cooking pan, the barbecue grill, the mechanics of the timing of turning over the steak, the relishes we can use, the balance of flavors, the degree of salt used, etc. The benefits describe the taste, the aroma, the protein contribution, the iron content in the diet. The application of the benefits talks about no longer being hungry, enjoying the occasion with friends, the bonhomie created through matching with excellent red wines, the visual scene of the meat being heated up, the sound and scent of the sizzle.

However, did we know whether they like the steak cooked in a pan in the controlled environment of the kitchen or outside on the barbecue grill? Do they like their steak turned over once so it is rather rare or do they like it well done? Do they like to add salt and pepper? What sauces do they prefer – ketchup, barbecue sauce, home made sauce, Worcestershire? Do they drink red wine, like the smell of steak cooking or the sound of the sizzle?

Sell the sizzle sounds easy, but all roads lead to Rome in sales and that always leads back to the quality of our questioning skills. The documentary on Sales had everyone hammering home this point, everyone in furious agreement, yet at the same time trying to carve out their little expertise niche on the subject. Fair enough, that is how you sell books, training courses or software.

Today, the internet brandishes our websites, stuffed to the gunwales with key information about us, our company, our products and services. Buyers can find out a lot about what they are seeking before, we even get to talk with them. The problem with that though is we cannot possibly anticipate all of the questions, concerns, doubts and hesitations they will have. Our websites are always going to be inadequate.

In the case of most B2B sales, we need to meet the buyer. We need to dig deep into questioning them about all the assumptions we are packing. We need to be skilled at linking their answers to the solutions we provide. We need to be strategic in our thinking and good at analysis. We need to be asking questions that trigger insights they had not considered about their business. We need to be dressing up statements, as questions to check for agreement and at the same time differentiating ourselves from the hoi polloi of our competition. We need to sell to their emotions and help them justify their decision with a wall of logic.

Do you think AI empowered robots can replace us and do a better job of handling that little list of goodies? Not yet!

So the sizzle is a bit more complex than it looks at first blush. Asking questions sounds easy too but are they the right questions, the best questions, the most impactful questions?

We do a lot of sales training here in Japan and the quality of the questioning is always a problem. Salespeople skip from one question to another, ignoring hints from the client that are worth a fortune. We have to stop doing that. We all need to take our assumptions apart and have a good look at them.

What is your equivalent of “sell the sizzle” simplicity in your organization that is costing you money through lost sales? We all have it, some accepted truth, dubious ancient wisdom, powerful precedent, established policy or groupthink. We have to be more vigilant to better analyse what we should be doing and how we should be doing it instead.

Engaged employees are self-motivated. The self-motivated are inspired. Inspired staff grow your business but are you inspiring them? We teach leaders and organisations how to inspire their people. Want to know how we do that? Contact me at greg.story@dalecarnegie.com

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About The Author

Dr. Greg Story: President, Dale Carnegie Training Japan

In the course of his career Dr. Greg Story has moved from the academic world, to consulting, investments, trade representation, international diplomacy, retail banking and people development. Growing up in Brisbane, Australia he never imagined he would have a Ph.D. in Japanese decision-making and become a 30 year veteran of Japan.

A committed lifelong learner, through his published articles in the American, British and European Chamber journals, his videos and podcasts “THE Leadership Japan Series”, "THE Sales Japan series", THE Presentations Japan Series", he is a thought leader in the four critical areas for business people: leadership, communication, sales and presentations. Dr. Story is a popular keynote speaker, executive coach and trainer.

Since 1971, he has been a disciple of traditional Shitoryu Karate and is currently a 6th Dan. Bunbu Ryodo (文武両道-both pen & sword) is his mantra and he applies martial art philosophies and strategies to business.