The F-U Position

Guide 2 the Grind

Positioning is one of the most important, yet least examined, parts of human interaction.

Every time we pick up the phone to call a prospect, or try to convince our significant other to do what they don’t want to do, or even when a child is asking for something from their parent, someone is the “F-U” or “Alpha” position, and someone is in the “Beta” position.

Let’s take a look at this in the simplest of terms, a child asking their parent for something like ice cream when it’s getting close to dinner time. The parent is in the Alpha position, because they have something the child really wants. Now the only way that the child is able to convince their parent to give them ice cream before dinner, is to give the parent something they want in return.

Kids are the best at this by the way, because they don’t have the fear of what others may think to hold them back. If being cute doesn’t work, they start to ask “why”, and the inevitable “because I said so” comes next. Depending on the child and the parent relationship this can escalate to crying and yelling, and temper tantrums… until one side gives in.

Here’s the thing, the struggle only occurs when the Beta side (the child) isn’t getting what it wants. So they try to bargain, then deploy emotional tactics, then finally launch an all out assault on the senses with their temper tantrum in an effort to figure out something that the Alpha side really wants. In a lot of cases the Alpha side gives in because they’d rather have peace and quiet, and the ice cream seems a fair exchange for that.

Let’s flip this and apply it to a sales situation. A lot of sales people, especially newer ones, think that the prospect they’re calling is in the Alpha position. I mean let’s face it, we’ve all had those crappy cold calls where someone was super rude, or downright mean. (Back to those childhood tactics.) But a great salesperson knows instinctively that they’re in the Alpha position before they ever pick up the phone.

Here’s why… belief.

If you don’t believe that what you’re selling is the best damn sprocket that's ever been produced in the history of sprocket production, then you need to find the best sprocket maker and go work for them. If the product or service you sell isn’t the best there is, at least in your mind, and doesn’t provide the most value for the customer, then there isn’t much point in selling it.
But let’s say you truly believe that it is, wouldn’t you want people to know about it?

In fact, wouldn’t you be doing the world a disservice by not letting your potential customers know about it? Wouldn’t they love to save money, save time, and look great doing it?

That belief alone puts the sales professional in the Alpha position long before the prospect is ever contacted. It’s a solution to a problem they have, and you’re simply letting them know that you can solve it for them.

It’s funny how when problems are made apparent, the solution becomes more valuable than money.

Here's an example… you know you should do regular maintenance on your vehicle, but you’ve been putting off an oil change for a while. Then, the car breaks down. You were too busy or didn’t have the money to get the oil change done, but now that the problem has come front and centre, you figure out how to come up with the extra money to get the car fixed, and the oil changed while it’s there.

A great salesperson knows they’re in the Alpha position right from the beginning of the call, and helps the prospect realize they’re in the Beta position by being great at understanding their prospects' problem, and showing them how they can fix it.

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