Sell like Columbo, not like James Bond

From: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/stories/1996/10/14/smallb5.html?t=printable

Friday, October 11, 1996
Sell like Columbo, not like James Bond

Sacramento Business Journal - by Bill "Guerrilla" Gallagher, Ph.D.

When many people first hear the word "guerrilla" they think of terrorists. They suppose that guerrilla sales and marketing might be rock 'em-sock 'em, beat-'em-up selling.

Nothing could be further from the truth. This is not high pressure. This is not even low-pressure; this is no-pressure selling and marketing.

In spite of its militaristic sounding title, guerrilla is about being unconventional, unorthodox, not about being more powerful or spending more money than your competition.

Do you remember history's first guerrillas? There may have been others, but we think of George Washington's soldiers, hiding behind the trees, with mud smeared on their faces, waiting for their best shot. All this while the British in classical military form lined up shoulder to shoulder, in red coats, waiting for the enemy to appear.

As you remember, Washington won that war by not fighting as the British fought. He learned how to be a "guerrilla." This word comes from the Spanish for "little warrior."

Most of us small-business people are not big, powerful military battalions with mammoth war chests for our marketing. We're "little warriors" with limited budgets. We must learn how to fight the battle from behind the trees, with a little mud on our faces, waiting for the best shot. This is why you read this column every week. You're looking for those few weekly tips which will give you the edge, allowing you to beat the competition without spending a lot of extra bucks on marketing.

So, guerrilla selling and guerrilla marketing is not about using the latest techo-gadgetry, although we recommend personal computers and modems. It's not about beating up your your competition or your customers.

This is not the James Bond theory of sales or marketing. This is more of the Columbo school of thought. We visualize Peter Falk, as Columbo, asking lots of questions. "Hmmm, just one other thing, ma'am, when did you first realize that you needed. ...?"

The big secret here is: Ask more questions. When you think you've asked a lot of questions, ask a few more. When you're sure that you've asked too many questions, ask at least three more. Make sure that you totally and completely understand your customer's wants and needs. When you're sure that you've got it 100 percent complete, ask a few more questions.

OK, when you're completely sure, just ask two more questions. Ask 'em for me. Ask 'em for you.

Bill Gallagher is head of Guerrilla Sales & Marketing in Diamond Springs and co-author of "Guerrilla Selling." For more information on the topics and ideas in this column, call (800) 800-8086 or send e-mail to bguerrilla@aol.com. If you have a marketing question, send it to The Business Journal, 1401 21st St., Sacramento 95814.