“Suckers… I feel sorry for you!”
The greatest scene in Better Call Saul | A quintessential example of the 'Challenger Sales' approach in action.
Those words, in the title of this email / post, came from the most street-smart T.V. “lawyer” anyone has ever seen in the past few decades.
If you’ve already binge-watched Better Call Saul, then the character Jimmy McGill needs no introduction.
If you’re in the dark on him, the simple version is that he’s better known by his professional alias and business moniker, Saul Goodman. As an Irish-American growing up in Cicero, Illinois… his hustle-instincts allow him to naturally operate on the fringe… as a criminal defense attorney. Con artist at heart, with an inner-dilemma of wanting to do, “good,” but not always knowing how to.
In the clip embedded below, which is from the second episode of the 4th season of Better Call Saul, Jimmy wants to be hired to sell office copier machines.
What you don’t see in the particular clip is that the hiring managers basically gave him the “Okay, thanks for coming in… we’re going to take time to consider your application,” spiel.
Jimmy starts to walk out of the office…
Now, queue the clip:
So, why did I share that scene with you?
Well, to be honest, I really had nothing else to pass along on this hazy southern Oregon Friday.
But, oh maaaaama, I sure will this Sunday am — via my cherished Weekend Whats roundsup. Reserved for Pro (paid) subscribers.
However, there are a few redeeming lessons here:
There is nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, that any human on this planet can do to, to increase their value to the world, than learn to sell themselves — i.e., to be persuasive; to sync-up emotion and logic in an effort to get others to see your point (your offer, your propositions, your ideas, etc.).
There’s a book, The Challenger Sale, which goes over why the approach… you see in the clip above… works so well in salesmanship. Jimmy naturally put it into play, but for the rest of us mere mortals, it’s explained on page 66 of the book.
Essentially, it goes like this…
Focus on the value of the product (“deadlines, last minute changes”), not the features, then dive into a story that will emotionally connect with the theoretical buyers (“clearing paper jams, hand dirty”); then highlight the emotional pain (“line of assistants, negative work environment”). Then lead to the solution (“healthy heartbeat = healthy business").
Over the years, I’ve sold a lot of stuff.
From things in-person (i.e., timeshare condos at the beach, biweekly mortgages, bathroom & tub remodeling, plus more)… to things over the phone (vacation packages, satellite dishes to companies with remote employees in the field, steel buildings)… to things online (information around self-improvement, lifestyle design and finances).
At the end of the day, each and every encounter, with either a prospect or customer, has added valuable qualities to my character; as without doing the right thing for others — i.e., meeting their expectations, going the extra mile, resolving issues with integrity and legit interest in their own results, etc. — you’re just spinning your wheels.
Of course, as you figured out by watching the entirety of the clip, Jimmy did his “dance” for his own reasons — like a cat playing with a dead mouse, he just wanted to amuse himself.
Until I write again — on Sunday….
Your Partner in the Quest for
Living a Life Without Limits,
Barry “Bear” Goss
