I have been talking a lot about the book ‘The Science of Selling’ lately because it begins to tell us- according to objective science- how buyers buy and the behaviors needed by salespeople to align to that.
It’s about time that sales leaders and experts turned to proven science. Rather than the bias of our own individual experience and success, proven science is a concept that has been verified through vigorous, scholarly research. It has been tested and verified through multiple sources. It goes through a peer review.
Behavioral scientist David G. Myers wrote, “A scientific theory explains through an integrated set of principles that organizes observations and predicts behaviors or events.” Scientists do not debate core scientific principles. (Cold calling is dead! Social selling is a scam! Sound familiar?) Is it any wonder why sales leaders and salespeople are confused and overwhelmed? How can they possibly know what is real, tested, and true? There needs to be a consensus as to what is known (according to science) and what is not known.
And while science answers many things, it raises even more questions in my mind. Now that we know what we should be doing, the next question is- will we do it and how well? How does our own psychology play into this formula? Can we truly change our own psychology?
And given this science-how does training and coaching need to change and work together? How can we help leaders develop their people and how can salespeople quickly adapt and change- not just once but continuously? And not just according to the latest fad, tech, methodology, or an expert’s “special sauce” but according to scientific principles?