Most business trends are easy to see. In fact, they’re often impossible to miss, repeated ad nauseum by managers and executives obsessing over the next best practice.
Unfortunately, if a trend is obvious, it probably won’t provide a competitive advantage, and it might not even be all that meaningful. That’s why we’ve always appreciated the premise behind Rohit Bhargava’s long-running “Non-Obvious” series, which seeks to surface the most noteworthy undercurrents in the business world that are escaping the mainstream radar.
Now, he’s gathered all of his best learnings and insights into a grand finale, offering plenty of relevant material for forward-looking sales leaders.
Sales Book Worth a Look: Non Obvious Megatrends: How to See What Others Miss and Predict the Future, by Rohit Bhargava
This is the 10th and final iteration of Bhargava’s annual staple. As the author explained on his blog: “In this new edition, we took an expansive look back at the past reports and combined this with all of the feedback, insights and discussions from more than a million smart readers who have bought, shared and debated this trend report over the years in order to arrive at ten big megatrend predictions.”
In its opening pages, Bhargava characterizes Non Obvious Megatrends as “a book about what it takes to see what no one else sees.” This description springboards off of one story – recounting the iconic “We’re No. 2. We Try Harder.” Avis advertising campaign from the 1960s – and is followed by many, many more. Stories are the fabric of this exploration of invisible driving forces in business.
The book is divided into three parts:
- Part I: The Art of Non-Obvious Thinking. Here, Bhargava equips the reader with a curious and outside-the-box mentality, instilling five helpful mindsets and detailing his “Haystack Method” for curating trends and fashioning them into useful insights.
- Part II: The Non-Obvious Megatrends. These “predictions of 10 powerful megatrends that will shape the coming decade” form the meat of the book. Below I’ll touch on a few that are especially relevant to sellers.
- Part III: Previous Trend Reports. Looking back at 10 years worth of predictions, Bhargava candidly assesses the accuracy and longevity of each, providing helpful historical context while taking us for a stroll down memory lane.
There’s plenty to dig through in the book’s 250 pages, which can be quickly consumed thanks to plentiful pictures, graphs, and lists.
3 Non-Obvious Megatrends Sellers Should Know
Each of the 10 trends laid out by Bhargava bears some relevance to the sales profession, since they’re all closely tied to the business landscape, but these three in particular speak to some key elements of modern selling.
Instant Knowledge: “As we become accustomed to consuming bite-sized knowledge on demand, we benefit from learning everything more quickly but risk forgetting the value of mastery and wisdom.”
We all know that customers are more apt than ever to research purchases on their own, leveraging the abundance of online content to inform their decisions. As Bhargava points out, this is emblematic of a more pervasive trend, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity for sales pros.
It’s true that buyers are generally less reliant on sellers for info and direction. But legitimate expertise remains an indispensable asset. If anything, a more informed prospect will be better able to filter the salespeople who actually know what they’re talking about.
As Bhargava asserts: “In a world where people know a little about a lot, those with decades of experience in a trade, craft, or skill will be more valued for their knowledge.”
Revivalism: “Overwhelmed by technology and a sense that life is now too complex and shallow, people seek out simpler experiences that offer a sense of nostalgia and remind them of a more trustworthy time.”
Even longtime sellers who have fully embraced the discipline’s evolution are bound to feel pangs of nostalgia for the good ol’ days, when business meetings happened face-to-face and deals were hammered out over a handshake. Many buyers miss it too, or parts of it at least. It’s much tougher to trust someone you’ve never met in person, especially when the relationship opens with a sales pitch.
Applying revivalism in the sales profession might mean injecting a few traditional techniques and traits into your sales approach. Take things back to “a more trustworthy time” by building relationships, chatting on the phone occasionally, and learning about the lives of the people with whom you do business. Online interactions are inherently impersonal, but there are certainly ways to humanize them.
Attention Wealth: “In the information economy, our attention is our most valuable resource, leading us to be more skeptical of those who manipulate us to get it, and instead seek out and trust those who communicate in more authentic ways.”
When I reached this chapter, I immediately thought of all the spammy and irrelevant sales messages I’ve received in the past. I’ll come across an eye-catching subject in my email inbox, only to open it and find I’ve been gamed into reading some stranger’s crappy pitch for something I couldn't possibly need.
It’s frustrating, in large part because – as Bhargava writes – attention is our most valuable resource. I can’t get back the two minutes I spent reading a pointless email. Busy professionals don’t take kindly to interruptive and poorly vetted sales outreach, and if this megatrend holds true, that won’t be changing anytime soon.
Salespeople are wise to be respectful of the limited resource that is attention. Be selective with outreach and engage people who are actually a fit for your solution. Provide value up-front as an exchange for their time. Be authentic and earn trust.
Storytelling is one of Bhargavi’s top suggestions here, especially with a genuine personal touch infused.
“To break through the noise, share your backstory, letting customers know how you do what you do,” he urges. “If you can share your story in an interesting way, showing your craft or trade with humility and vulnerability, you might be able to interest current customers or potentially new ones to spend more time (and money) with you.”
See What No One Else Sees
Every sales leader wants to be a step ahead, positioning their teams for success in an ever-changing environment. Glomming onto the latest superficial trend can be hazardous, but the predictions in Non Obvious Megatrends are well substantiated and – at least to me – intuitively valid.
“Too many trend predictions are based on laziness, wishful thinking or just plain obvious,” Bhargava writes in a Q&A on the Non Obvious Megatrends website. “This book was inspired by ten years of research and more than 100 past trend predictions.”
Because of this, it’s worthy of your (possibly scarce) time and attention. Grab a copy and uncover some non-obvious ways to improve your sales team’s results.
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Topics: Sales management
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