By Phil Harwood

This blog post describes what I believe to be my greatest sales tactic; the one that has worked the best for me. The best thing about this tactic is that it requires almost no preparation or advanced skill development. And it works. 

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During the month of May, the topic of sales is top of mind at Grow The Bench and at the Snowfighters Institute. This is because we have two incredible events on the calendar this month: Neal’s webinar, Successful Snow Sales Scripts, and Forum for Sales. And so I’ve been reflecting on some of my own sales experiences. 

One of the ways I have helped companies is to work with their sales teams. In addition, I have even done some sales work for clients. During one of these engagements, I had the opportunity to perfect the sales tactic I like to call the Mr. Magoo approach.

Mr. Magoo was a cartoon character who bumbles his way through life because of his poor eyesight, avoids near-misses, and always comes out on top. Nobody is luckier than Mr. Magoo. But, in order to be lucky, he has to be in a situation to begin with. And that is the genius of the Mr. Magoo approach. 

Briefly, the approach is to get yourself into a position where you don’t belong, with an attitude that you do. Mr. Magoo yourself into the situation where you just might get lucky. Let me explain with an illustration. 

Let’s say that there is a nice big industrial building that you’re targeting. As you drive into the parking lot, you see the front entrance where visitors enter and are most likely questioned by security or a trained gatekeeper. But then you notice that the loading dock doors are open because there is active loading and unloading at the rear of the building. 

The Mr. Magoo approach is to walk into the building from the loading dock area like you belong there. Once inside, some random person will ask you what you’re doing or who you are, which is the perfect opportunity to explain that you’re here to meet with the facility manager. 

After this brief encounter, there’s a 50% chance you’re gonna be escorted back out the door. But there’s also a 50% chance that you’ll end up speaking with the facility manager, which are way better odds than if you walked in the front door and had to go toe-to-toe with the security guard or trained gatekeeper. I guarantee you that the forklift driver is not a trained gatekeeper.

On today’s podcast, I’m sharing the story of how I Mr. Magoo’d myself into the executive offices of Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. Using this technique, I was able to enter the building and have the security guard direct me to the correct elevators. I found myself in the executive offices along with a wall of Super Bowl trophies. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to hear the full story. 

Now, back to those opportunities for you and your team to crush it this year in sales. Neal Glatt is presenting a free webinar on sales scripts, titled Successful Snow Sales Scripts. You will not want to miss this May 2 webinar. 

In addition, the Snowfighters Institute is holding its Forum for Sales May 22-23 in Milford, MA. Registration is open right now and spots are filling up. If you are interested in attending, I highly recommend registering today. 

Now go forth.