What is your Sales Metaphor? with Ian Altman

The Conversation Factory

Daniel Stillman Interviews Ian Altman

I am so thrilled to share this conversation with author and speaker Ian Altman about a conversation we all have to contend with one way or another - sales! Everyone sells something at some point, whether it’s in a job interview or a client presentation...and at some point everyone is going to be sold to.

Ian’s book, Same Side Selling, asks “Are you tired of playing the sales game?”

The most widely used metaphors in sales are those related to sports, battle, or games. The challenge with this mindset is that it means one person wins, and the other loses. Instead of falling victim to a win-lose approach, what if you shared a common goal with your potential client? How might things change if the client felt that you were more committed to their success than making the sale?

As Ian says in the opening quote - it’s not about a series of tactics, it’s about selling something you care about that helps people solve real challenges that you also care about!

I wanted to share my own takeaways form Ian’s approach that have helped me facilitate deeper conversations with my clients and potential clients.

1. Stay in the problem space slightly longer than feels comfortable. My listeners with Design Thinking experience will not be too surprised to hear that jumping from problem to solution quickly is not any more effective in sales conversations than it is in innovation conversations. Staying in the problem space means listening longer and more deeply to people before you share your amazing solution to all their worries. Ian’s “same side quadrant” notebook has actually been a helpful reminder to do just that.
2. Ask “what’s the cost of not solving this challenge?” Make sure you understand not just the problem today, but the cost of not solving the problem in the near future. This conversation can help you both understand how to measure the impact of any effort you make to solve the problem.
3. The Cost of your solution is often irrelevant in the face of the cost of the problem. Once you really know the cost of the problem, talking about your fees can feel less challenging.

What is particularly interesting me to are the wider implications of Ian’s metaphor driven-approach. What metaphors are driving the key relationships in your life? Those metaphors are narrative threads that link (and color) each and every moment of the relationship. The simple shift from a game to be won to a puzzle to be solved is a profound one. If you think of your marriage as a battle or your job as circus, the way you name the game will affect how you play it.

I’m really grateful to Ian for this new metaphor - and I think you’ll enjoy it too!

Ian’s Same Side Sales Podcat: https://www.ianaltman.com/same-side-selling-podcast/

Your Chocolate is in my peanut butter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJLDF6qZUX

Same Side Sales Journal: https://www.ianaltman.com/store/Journal/

Full Transcription at

https://theconversationfactory.com/podcast/2019/12/04/what-is-your-sales-metaphor