“It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot.”

My wife and I finally had a chance to watch “Top Gun: Maverick.” And boy did it deliver on all of my 80’s Top Gun nostalgic wants and desires!

Not to mention, the newness of the way that the producers filmed and edited the fighter jet scenes, the new love interest storyline (for my wife), the tangled web of relationships and heartbreak from the original film, plus the iconic musical score … it was all so well done and put together!

When we were done watching, and after the feeling of being “in it” was wearing off, I kept coming back to the above quote.

In business environments as a SALES rep, a business owner, or an executive leading a company, it’s easy to correlate real-world examples of where ‘the plane, or the pilot,’ becomes the punching bag.

***SPOILER ALERT***

In the film and meme from above, Miles Teller’s character, call sign, “Rooster” (the son of “Goose” from the original film) re-emphasizes to “Maverick,” played by Tom Cruise, that ‘it’s not the plane, it’s the pilot,’ on how they’re going to escape enemy fighter jets in an aged warplane that they stole together, after crashing behind enemy lines.

Earlier in the film, “Maverick” delivered the same quote to “Rooster” and his young hotshot classmate pilots that he was teaching at Top Gun, as they were in training for the movie’s main mission. Most rolled their eyes, but with “Rooster” using the same quote for his teacher, “Maverick,” it offered the ‘full-circle’ moment of the movie.

So, what are some real-life examples where we often let the vehicle dictate the success, or failures, of our business-related outcomes?

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Recognize the vehicle for what it is; just a vehicle.

What’s up homies! Make an effort to get to your ‘danger zone,’ this week, and take action on something you’ve been procrastinating over that will help grow your business or close a new sale!

The idea of a vehicle, in literary form, a metaphor, is used across all walks of life.

Using sports, let’s say, football, is often used to describe how the action of participating, or the experiences gained by the player, is the vehicle on which that player will learn about teamwork, dedication, practice, or commitment. Being on the football team, even though it was about lifting weights and memorizing offensive or defensive plays, is really about learning how to compete and win (or lose) as a team.

In business, we can use the same idea to come up with various vehicles that educate, teach, or inform us about another aspect of our craft.

^{Using a metaphor.}

In the tweet above, I referenced how the journey of closing a new sale is like taking a walk up a stairwell. Some of us like to take each individual step, one at a time. Others like to take two at a time, or more!

But the metaphor behind the idea is that no matter the steps, or the stairs, focusing on each next step (in your process) one after another, is how you’ll achieve your goal of closing your sale.

Not by focusing on the top of the stairs.

^{Respect scales; attention fails.}

Some of the best SALES reps choose to live a lifestyle of flash, glitz, and glamour. Others, choose to not let any income windfalls or above-average incomes deter them from their true self.

A literal vehicle, like a BMW, or a Mercedes, conveys a certain image. And depending upon who you are, that image could look like many different assumptions:

• Someone with success?

• Someone with debt?

• A business owner?

• A SALES person?

Back in 2005 when I had my first taste of SALES successes as a 25-year-old, I bought a 2001 BMW 325i. It had red leather seats, and it literally could put you back into your seat when you drove it. I loved it!

I’ll never forget what the VP of Sales of my company said during the next Monday morning sales meeting on the first day that I drove it into the office and had it parked in the lot outside of the office.

And that’s when it hit me.

The 45-year-old VP wasn’t impressed, it was simply a car with a large monthly payment, to him. He didn’t respect me more for it. But he LOVED that I purchased it, because all of a sudden, I had a material reason to keep selling.

Although I didn’t buy it for the attention, it certainly didn’t create extra points on the respect scale. And the attention I got, although fun, fizzled quickly.

Invest in your business peers, customers, subordinates, bosses, and others. The relationships you create over your career will literally drive you faster and help you go further than any material sports car … with red leather seats.

^{M&Ms for the win.}

My favorite ice-breaker or “vehicle” for any presentation where I’m positioning a value-added service offering is using a pack of peanut M&Ms (the yellow bag).

I’ll start by asking each person to guess how many individual pieces are in their package and write that number down. Then, I’ll ask them to pick one color and guess how many of that color are also in their package and write that color and number down.

Everyone opens their bags and spills their contents onto the table in front of them!

As they’re counting, I’ll explain that ‘each M&M fun pack has approximately 16-20 individual pieces, and statistically, one of the six colors will not be represented.’ Everyone is always so intrigued by statistics and data regarding the packs.

We’ll go around the group and share our guesses and the actuals. And at the end of the exercise, I’ll mention that ‘this is a simple example of how my company looks at a (insert your value-driven service here); not by guessing, but by using data and analytics to craft strategy and our deliverables.’

And all of the proverbial light bulbs go off in everyone’s head. And they all sit back and nod their heads.

And the best part? Everyone has a treat to enjoy during the presentation.

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The moral of the story? Vehicles, the actual kind, and the metaphoric kind are important for progression and ascension in your SALES career.

They teach us professional life lessons. They demonstrate materialism vs. professional respect. And they allow us to tell stories that help solidify a differentiating message.

What are some of the “vehicles” that you use in selling? Reply to this email and share them with me! I’d love to be able to do a follow-up blast sharing others’ examples.

Sales Tweets of The Week!

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