Watson's Success Blueprint Sales DNA

The co-cracker of the Double Helix wrote up his 'rules of thumb' for success at the end of an indisputably successful career.

Whilst focused from a pursuit of 'science', the thirteen rules are readily applicable beyond his field.

Let's expand these selected five with prescient solution Sales overlay.

Have a big objective that makes you feel special
His belief was having a world-changing aim creates a near-religious fervour and devotion to the cause. His own label of "unrivaled prize of indisputable significance" appears very much of the macro level. Yet for us I feel the concept remains valid when micro. In fact, when as precision lasered as possible, even more so. I often talk to sellers on their little way in which they want to reshape the world. To ape Schumacher, small can very much be beautiful. Temper this against his slant that incremental aims rarely produce transformative results or personal motivation and I know you can in fact find great fuel in changing the world in your own small way. After all, an issue that might be viewed as tiny overall, for our buyers can very much loom large.

Choose an objective apparently ahead of its time
Perhaps building on the above, ambitious, forward-looking goals can position you for breakthroughs while others chase safer, more conventional targets. Yet I encounter an unwanted side effect of this almost always in my New Product Rescue guise. Where salesforces spin themselves into the lather that everyone simply must bite their arm off for what they now freshly offer. This then fatally flounders when faced with reality. The theme is certainly valid, so long as those you specifically target are predisposed to be receptive.

Be the first to tell a good story
His context was less about the story itself, but being first to spread it. Again, there's potential corollary in form of the famed first-versus-follower framework. Where "research" suggests it is not in fact the original innovator that makes the big gains, but those going in second and improving on the nascent offering. In any case, the fact remains that it is usually the case that the first to tell the prospect their story, especially in relation to framing the problem and setting the spec, wins.

Two obsessions are one too many
Yep, a servant cannot have two masters. As I all too well know to my personal cost. Where having happily exited my own business, tried then to found three more. Energy must not be diluted. Have a singular issue to resolve. Whatever other marvels you may bring, a buyer only ever wants to know about their sole one from the start.

Knowing 'why' (an idea) is more important than learning 'what' (a fact)
Shades of Sinek's lovely Golden Circle. Ditto the power of process > goals. Americans I've worked with also refer to mere 'table stakes'. That's basically the 'speeds-'n-feeds' features zone. Where it's really about the deeper drivers and root causes, risk and knock-ons that count. Which also goes a long way to highlighting why every decision to buy is emotional, over the supposed preponderance of data points.

I could also have homed in on the one from which he chose to title his, 'avoid boring people', or the #FastFail adjacent 'make necessary decisions before you have to'. to name but two others. Either way, put these in terms potential customers feel they're at the centre of, and they will help build your personal solutions platform success.