The Mustard Seed

When I was a kid sitting in Sunday school I remember listening to stories and parables used to explain certain lessons to be learned. One of those parables was about a mustard seed. The mustard seed is an extremely small seed which when planted in fertile soil becomes a very large shrub.

The parable of the mustard seed goes something like this (If you’re familiar with the story please bear with me for those who are not). The farmer sews mustard seeds and some of those seeds fall on hard rock. The mustard seed cannot plant its roots and it withers quickly in the sun. Some mustard seeds land on sand and the seeds root quickly. However the sand cannot hold the water or nutrients for growth and again the mustard seed dies. Some seeds fall on fertile soil and are able to send their roots deep into the ground. There is enough moisture and nutrients for the seeds to grow into large shrubs yielding crops to the farmer.

One of the main themes behind the story is the mustard seed represents the word of God. When the word of God is heard by individuals not open to listening, the word does not get through. Others are open to hearing the word and readily accept it, until they are required to act on it and they too lose interest. Then there are those individuals open to hearing the word, accept it and take action accordingly.

So what does that have to do with sales? I’ve often wondered why so many sales approaches (and sales people) assume everybody hears or processes words the same way. Five hundred people can sit in a lecture hall listening to the same speaker and no two people will hear exactly the same thing.

Broken down into categories, some prospects are not unlike the rock, they are not open to your service or products. They are not buying no matter how good a job you do (don’t waste your time or theirs). Then there are those prospects who appear to like what you have to say, possibly ask for a proposal and then do absolutely nothing. Even worse than the rocks, these individuals have wasted your time better spent with those you can actually help. Which brings me to the last group, the fertile soil (target market). These are the individuals who like what you have to say, are interested in your service or product and buy.

Any successful prospecting and sales process uses a methodology to separate out the rocks, sand and fertile soil. These last group are the people you want to find. Once you do remember fertile soil varies from place to place, no two prospects are the same. It takes time, some great questions and good listening skills to learn what this prospects soil looks and feels like (another reason why canned sales pitches or closing tactics don’t work with any consistency).

Being the best requires working on yourself mentally and physically, doing your homework on defining your target market, being technically savvy and honing your personal skills. You are the ultimate sales tool.