The Left Engine: Why Sales Works When the Customer is the Hero

Sales is a Story and Your Customer is the Hero

As I’ve mentioned in an earlier post, a business works like an airplane. To fly straight and reach its destination, it needs both engines working together.

Your marketing engine is designed to bring in leads and opportunities. But marketing alone doesn’t grow a business — you still have to close the deal.

• Marketing creates curiosity and awareness.

• Sales creates clarity — clarity around how your product or service solves your customer’s problem.

When a customer has confidence in your solution, you’re far more likely to earn the order.

What Happens When the Sales Engine Isn’t Healthy

If your sales engine isn’t healthy, your business won’t grow. See if any of these sound familiar:

• Prospects go quiet

• Deals drag on

• Revenue becomes unpredictable

• Sales conversations feel awkward or forced

Most sales problems aren’t caused by a lack of skill or sales ability. They’re caused by a misunderstanding of roles.

Stop Making Yourself the Hero

Most sales calls, proposals, and pitches make the same mistake: They try to make the company making the offer the hero.

Trying to impress prospects or prove expertise is the wrong approach.

In every effective sales conversation:

• The customer is the hero

• You are the guide

Your job is to help the hero solve a problem — not steal the spotlight.

Start With the Problem

If your marketing engine is working, there’s already interest. Now it’s time to ask good questions — and then listen.

Ask questions like:

• What does success look like to you?

• What would make this a win?

• What happens if nothing changes?

People don’t buy products. They buy solutions to problems.

Identify the Real Problem

Every customer experiences three levels of problems:

• External problem – what’s happening

• Internal problem – how it feels

• Philosophical problem – why it shouldn’t be this way

  
  

Example:

Customer: “I need a new car.”

Question: “What about your current car isn’t working for you?”

Answer: “It’s my wife’s car and it keeps breaking down on the freeway.”

• External: The car is unreliable and expensive to maintain

• Internal: He feels like he’s not taking care of his family

• Philosophical: A spouse shouldn’t have to worry about being stranded

Most buying decisions are driven by the internal problem.

Lead With Empathy and Authority

Next, show the customer two things:

1. Empathy – that you understand and care

2. Authority – that you have a solution that works

You don’t need a long resume. You need calm confidence and clarity.

Simplify the Path Forward

Many sales are lost because the process feels too hard or confusing.

Give the customer a simple, three-step plan.

Example:

1. Test drive the car you like

2. Complete the paperwork

3. Drive home today in a car that won’t leave your wife stranded

Now the path is clear.

Call Them to Action

Once the path is clear, invite the customer to take the next step:

“Based on our conversation, I think this is the right car for you. Would you like to drive it home today, or have it detailed and pick it up in the morning?”

Then reinforce the stakes:

There’s no longer a reason to worry about your wife being stranded on the highway again.

Sales Is a Story

Sales conversations work best when they follow a story structure:

• A hero (your customer)

• With a problem

• Meets a guide (you)

• Who offers a solution and a plan

• The hero takes action

• The hero wins

In this case, the husband goes home with a new car — and his spouse truly sees him as the hero.

When Sales Is Aligned With the Right Mindset

When sales is done the right way:

• Conversations become shorter and more natural

• Prospects feel understood, not sold

• Close rates increase

• Revenue becomes more predictable

And just like an airplane, when both engines are firing, the business flies higher and faster.

Final Thought

Sales isn’t about persuasion. It’s about solving a problem.

When you stop trying to be the hero and start acting like a guide, sales calls stop feeling awkward — and start working the way they should.

If you’d like help clarifying your sales message and creating a simple, repeatable sales framework, I’d be happy to help.