Periodically, someone will suggest at a workshop I'm running, or post on Alan's Forums, or write me an email, telling me that I'm missing a great "sales technique" which they learned about from some guru who sends out direct mail and runs "boot camps" or some such thing.

The problem for them all is that consulting is about relationships with high level buyers, not commodity sales to random individuals or, worse, training departments.

The Credibility Test

If you're going to listen to someone's "sales techniques," find out if they've ever been successful, well, selling what you wish to sell. Most of the people I've seen, and certainly the loudest, hype all kinds of "guaranteed" and "fool proof" methods, yet I've never, ever heard of them as consultants, or speakers, or facilitators, or coaches, or anything vaguely related.

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