Product Knowledge is Over Rated

Throwing out information in a fast and furious manner with the occasional gust of speed is more commonly referred to as an information dump. This is something that junior, untrained, undisciplined listeners, immature, technically minded, nervous or less sophisticated sales people have a tendency of doing. They focus too much attention on features, benefits, bells, whistles, functions, widgets and gadgets and do not pay enough attention to exploring needs, opportunities, applications and ways in which they can bring value to the prospect and easily justify their position for change and/or improvement. They also forget about the person they are speaking with and they neglect to engage them by leveraging people skills, stimulating conversation and paying attention to them. They usually have an agenda that is concentrated on spewing out all that they know and/or have learned about the products or services that they are attempting to sell and they fear any hint of silence so they fill the void with the most minor and insignificant of details even if the information doesn't apply and the customer or prospect couldn't care less.

It's not uncommon for people who have been involved in an industry or environment to become old, stale and tired. Without proper awareness they can fall into bad habits as a result of their overwhelming base of knowledge which increases their dependency on the knowledge preventing them from being open and intelligent enough to know that it isn't necessary to unleash it all in every customer interaction. Putting people first (the customer or prospect) and putting the vast knowledge that you have acquired second is the key to maximizing opportunties. The focus should be sharing relevant and applicable knowledge as required and showing restraint with any other information.

Narrow minded people who are involved in human resources and the hiring or recruitment process often make the mistake of over looking truly talented individuals and instead letting their criteria for industry related experience or technical knowledge over shadow sound business judgment and even common sense. The problem is that it is easier to measure factors such as post secondary education, technical know how or the amount of time that an individual has been employed in a certain career track. It is much more difficult to ascertain their talent level in terms of what they bring to the table. Or put into other words, it is simpler to read a sheet of paper to see what a person has done vs. assessing their potential in order to determine what they can do. This can be a key contributing factor to what eventually becomes the sales person who knows it all and thinks that it is necessary to shoot both barrels in order to impress and win over a customer every time.

A person with advance communication skills who asks brilliant questions, listens, observes and intensely soaks up ideas and concepts is worth their weight in gold. What they lack in experience and/or product knowledge they can more than make up for based on their superior method for assessing needs and guiding a conversation. If they have the kind of attitude that keeps them open minded to new possibilities, experiences and knowledge combined with an aptitude for learning at an accelerated pace and an ability to look at things from an inside out perspective they are far more valuable then someone who can simply spew and regergitate facts, figures, specifications and memorized product information.

I'm not saying that product knowledge isn't important because it is! What I am saying is that product knowledge and industry related information in the wrong hands or that is improperly used can be detrimental when it isn't combined with a balanced application of other skills and attributes. Thinking that product knowledge is the most important factor can lead to big blunders in hiring and it can also result in the kind of sales interaction that most of us detest being assaulted with.

Marshall W. Northcott

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