Marshmallow Grabbers and Cookie Monsters
IN 1960, DR. WALTER Mischel, author of The Marshmallow Test, Why Self-Control Is the Engine of Success, became famous for what is now known as the “Marshmallow Study.” He and his Stanford University research team wanted to understand willpower, specifically delayed gratification and how this skill could impact a person’s future success. The participants in this research project were four-year-olds. The Cliff Notes version of this research is that he and his team would test a child’s self-control by placing a treat, often a marshmallow, in front of a child with the promise that if they didn’t eat the treat, the child would earn another treat. They found that the children who were able to demonstrate self-control and avoid gobbling down the treat immediately enjoyed more success in both their business and personal lives.
Many years later, Dr. Mischel was asked to consult with the Education and Research Group at Sesame Workshop. He worked with the Sesame Street team to create shows focused on teaching the importance of self-control. Their goal was to teach young viewers how to control themselves, especially in difficult situations.
The subject matter expert chosen to deliver this message was the Cookie Monster, a blue character best known for his frequent “Me want a cookie” requests. When cookies are not available, the Cookie Monster’s appetite allows him to eat virtually anything else, including normally inedible objects. This character is a clear demonstration of the implications of low self-control and instant gratification.
I laughed out loud when I read about this character because there is a little bit of the Cookie Monster in all of us in the sales profession. “Me wants a full sales pipeline now. Me wants a sale now. Me wants to be masterful at sales now.”
So, what does the Cookie Monster and instant gratification have to do with hiring good salespeople? A lot.
Delayed Gratification and Sales Results
When interviewing sales candidates, probe salespeople for their self-control and delayed gratification skills. These salespeople have the ability to put in the work to create successful sales outcomes. Instant gratification salespeople, “Me want it now” salespeople, have a hard time staying the course toward achieving goals. They gravitate toward the paths in life that promise a magic shortcut to success.
There are several areas of the sales process that are negatively impacted if you hire a cookie monster or a marshmallow grabber. Here are four I’ve consistently seen in working with sales teams.
Prospecting. Your company’s sales cycle ranges from six to nine months from first contact to close. You’re onboarding your new hire and establish the sales activity plan required to build a robust sales pipeline.
Your new salesperson is motivated to succeed. She consistently hits all sales activity metrics for the first three months. Deals are moving forward in the sales process but no business has closed. Frustration and the desire for instant gratification kick in, even though the salesperson knows that the sales cycle is six to nine months. “Me wants a sale now” thinking and selling behaviors set in.
She checks out and checks into instant gratification, non-revenue sales activity. She checks her social media sites, looking for likes and comments from strangers who can’t or won’t do business with her. She schedules coffees with other instant gratification salespeople where they commiserate on the difficulties of the sales profession. They validate each other’s excuses for not doing the hard work of prospecting. “I’ve just got a bad territory.”
Instant gratification salespeople settle for an instant gratification prospecting approach. Crafting compelling and customized prospecting messages takes time and effort. But instant gratification salespeople cave into “Me wants results now.” They take the easy path, using generic, one-size-fits-all value propositions and approaches in their outbound prospecting efforts. They don’t invest time designing messages specific to the buyer persona. Generic efforts equal dismal sales results because busy and educated prospects expect a salesperson to quickly demonstrate she knows and understands their business challenges and goals.
I asked one of my clients, Jimmy Malloy, a very successful financial planner, the keys to his success. He smiled his big Irish smile. “That’s easy. You’ve got to do your first year sometime. And most salespeople never put in the work to do their first year.”
Sales Skill Development. Delayed gratification is essential in mastering new selling skills and habits. Great salespeople practice a lot. As a result, they show up to sales meetings confident, relaxed, and prepared. They are fully present because they aren’t wondering about their next sales ninja move or question. They know their next question because they’ve put in the time to practice and role-play. Mastery of selling skills is what allows a salesperson to truly listen instead of forming the next question without hearing the prospect’s answer.
The Diamond in the Rough
I remember a client from my early years in this business. Ralph was what you’d call a little rough around the edges, not the most polished individual. But what Ralph lacked in polish, he made up for in delayed gratification skills. He always put in the work to be successful. When attending our workshops, he showed up prepared with questions, asking for advice on upcoming sales meetings or past sales conversations. Most important, he applied the coaching.
He would practice, practice, and practice some more. It was quite rewarding to see this rough-around-the-edges salesperson become a diamond and one of the top salespeople at his company.
Instant gratification salespeople excel at being average because they don’t put in the work to achieve sales mastery. You can’t afford to hire average because today’s customers have too many choices and options. They simply don’t write checks to average salespeople.
Major account selling. I’ve observed more than one sales manager waste precious time trying to train and coach a cookie monster salesperson on the mechanics of selling to major accounts.
Great sales training is imparted around identifying buying influences and how to conduct thoughtful sales conversations. Discussions are held around the best tactics and strategies to unseat the incumbent. Brainstorming sessions are conducted on how to get a foot in the door.
Here’s the reality. Elephant hunting takes time and delayed gratification skills. Big accounts require more pre-call planning to figure out the buying landscape. Big accounts require more meetings with multiple decision makers. Big accounts often take longer to close because of the size or complexity of the deal.
The instant gratification salesperson knows what to do from the good training she received from her sales manager. But the salesperson continues to pursue smaller deals because they are easier to close. She gives into the pull of instant gratification and “Me wants a deal now” thinking. Sales leaders, if you need your team landing bigger accounts, interview potential candidates for delayed gratification skills.
Job-hopping. Shirley is a sales manager and is reviewing a stack of resumes. She notices that a lot of the potential sales candidates have changed jobs every two years. But she’s also heard that salespeople aren’t staying with one company anymore. Many will have as many as thirteen jobs in their lifetime. Shirley, like many sales managers, wonders if it’s okay to settle for a job-hopper.
Don’t do it.
Forget about what you’ve read on the internet, heard from thought leaders, or read in the paper. They’ve probably never hired a salesperson in their life! Or, they’ve given into the pull of instant gratification, settling for below-average salespeople.
Job-hopping salespeople tend to be instant gratification salespeople. When the going gets tough, they get going! These folks live in the world of “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” They don’t put in the work making the grass greener at their current company.
I’m not going to share any research on this topic. Instead, I’ll ask you to apply common sense and your own life experience. Look at successful colleagues and peers. How many of them are job-hoppers? In looking at my most successful clients and colleagues, the resounding answer is zero.
But wait a minute, Colleen. You’re old school. Times have changed. The new generation is different. Really? Would Mark Zuckerberg have built Facebook if he decided to job-hop two years after starting the company? Do great athletes switch from football to basketball to track and field because they feel a calling to a new career every two years?
Step into your client’s shoes. Clients don’t enjoy educating and building relationships with a new salesperson every year. Trust and relationships are built over time. Instant gratification salespeople don’t put in the time to build deep client relationships.
Are there exceptions to this job-hopping debate? Sure, and one such exception are young sales professionals in their twenties. These individuals often start their careers in an inside sales or business development role, many of which are designed for a two-year stint. If a company doesn’t have a career path for young, ambitious sales professionals, they will move to organizations offering a better career path in sales.
Go back to your twenties. You may have changed jobs more in your twenties. It’s always been the decade of figuring it out. This isn’t new behavior. I had four different jobs in my twenties before I landed in this rewarding career of sales and with a great company where I stayed for ten years.
Vet your new hire for delayed gratification skills. Avoid hiring sales marshmallow grabbers and cookie monsters.
Sales EQ Interview Questions
1. How do you plan your week? (Proactive planning takes time. You have to put in the work to achieve a well-run week.)
2. What is the hardest goal you’ve worked to achieve? What made it hard? How long did you work to achieve the goal?
3. Describe to me a skill that you’ve mastered. How did you achieve mastery? How many hours of practice or time did you invest to master it?
4. What is the largest account you’ve sold? How long did it take? What were some of the obstacles in getting the deal across the line?
5. Give me an example of a time when you gave up on achieving a goal. How long had you pursued the goal?
6. Share with me your pre-call planning strategy when meeting with a new prospect. Or, upselling a new line of business to a client.
7. What are you doing today to make sure your skills and knowledge remain relevant?
Recruit and hire salespeople with delayed gratification skills. Avoid hiring cookie monsters and marshmallow grabbers. You need salespeople who are willing to put in the work to reap the many rewards of masterful sales.