If you ever visited an arcade while you were growing up, you may remember the coin push game. This is the game that tortures players by showing the potential waterfall of winnings if you put just one more coin in the right place, at the right time.
I feel this game is a great analogy for the way to do Selling in your business.
Many people think that selling is like another game: a slot machine. You put one coin into a box, you don’t get to see what happens behind the curtain, you cross your fingers, usually for about 15 seconds or less, and then magically Sales are supposed to come pouring out of the machine. You walk away scratching your head and wondering what could have been if you just got Triple-7’s, or at least three cherries. More than likely, the actual outcome was that you learned nothing and that you’re bitter about even playing the game.
Instead, here is why the Coin Push game is an even better analogy for Selling in business:
1. You Win by Selling
If you commit time putting in your coins, adding your “nickels” to the game, you will see your sales pipeline grow. The more nickels you put in, the more you will eventually get in winnings. The more nickels you put in, the more you learn about where, when, why and how you need to place your nickels; left vs. right, earlier vs. later in the demand cycle, changing up the volume and frequency, one market vs. another market.
2. You Earn Sales
Many people think Sales is the process and the result. Selling is the process, and it includes so many other things: knowing your market, knowing what the cost of entry is, knowing what the market is willing to pay when they need what you offer, knowing how and when your market wants you to participate and play, and many other things that most people usually are not willing to do. They would rather put nickels into the magic box and just wait for the Sales to come.
3. Resilience Wins
If you take your time and learn the cadence of the game, studying what works and what doesn’t work, having the dedication and the resiliency to see through plans, strategies, programs and tactics, you will win at the coin-push games, and you will win at Selling.
So, just like an arcade, pick your game and figure out ways you will attack, and stick to it, and you will win sales by selling, and not by putting one coin in a magic box. Every single nickel you put in pays off; every nickel is a new opportunity, a new failure and lesson learned, or a new win. Go out there to put in some nickels!
