Baffle Balls
As this collage of Google images search returns shows, a baffle ball is a hollow lightweight plastic orb with several panels cut out.
The affect is to provide stability and safety by thwarting any surge of transported liquid.
We could do without any of our deals sloshing about too.
Who wants the turbulence of weight moving too far one way forcing fatal imbalance. Or deviating from the smooth path which makes forward motion tricky. When any bump in the road may send us toppling through a new course of unstoppable swings ending in the chaos of no signature.
What preventative measures can we take to also lessen costly wear and tear?
Well, first consider what sends a deal careering off track.
High on the list of offenders is failure to obtain what many old souls swear by as the ‘hunting licence’.
An early engagement with the head honcho prospectside. One which specifically grants permission to roam around their fiefdom, work through what’s what, and duly report back with a plan.
Another old favourite is to unleash the power of rank, or level, selling. Where you deliberately pair up functional, organisational and cultural peers from your team with theirs.
Then there’s the exposure to someone special. A key techie. The undisputed tactical game changer. A burning issue opinion leader of renown.
What’s worth noting about these – especially the latter two – is how adapting your sales process to video makes these both easier to achieve and significantly more potent.
After all, as the gag goes, you can persuade practically anybody to zoom in for a 45-minute session for a thousand dollars these days.
Surely the logic extends to having a senior exec willing and able to jump on your video call for the vaunted ‘8-minute’ slot. Both from within and without.
Both potentially a progression masterstroke and cast-iron qualifier too.
Finally, there’s the angle of pathway to think on.
Your baffle balls may also relate to how the prospect experiences their buying journey with you.
How the like of gaining guarantees, prices, implementation promises and plans are from their viewpoint off you.
Plenty of ways to becalm those breaking waves.