"Why do salespeople make the SAME mistake?"

12/31/2009

It's the last day of 2009. I was trying to take the day off but one thing led to another and here I am writing about another classic, fundamental sales mistake.

Here's the scenario - I need a new car. Actually I need two new cars. We hold onto our vehicles way to long. Mine is so old that I'm going to give it to my teenager. My wife's is so old that we will not take it on long drives any more. So it's pretty clear we are going to buy a car. It's not a necessity yet but you would have to agree it is pretty close to a necessity.

This time we have done our homework. We have test drove at least 5 different models. They are all priced about the same. We actually ruled out our favorite model from the test drive.

We have narrowed it down to 2 models from 2 different manufacturers.

While we were on our last test drive the salesman received a phone call that a prospect was waiting for him at the showroom. Being a salesperson myself I didn't appreciate the interruption but I did appreciate the fact that he had another prospect waiting. (Several of the salespeople on our test drives answered their phones while they were "selling" us.)

When we got back, I knew he would be rushed  so I handed him my card and said "call me in the morning." Now just to be clear, I didn't give any other salesperson my card so between the card and the "call me" this should be a CLEAR buying signal.

That was 2 days ago. Still no call.

Even in a depressed economy people are buying stuff. Salespeople need to act like salespeople and do the fundamental tasks that have to be done.

If you are a business owner or a sales manager reading this sales tip then don't assume that this wasn't one of your salespeople that I'm talking about. I bet your folks are making this same mistake.

PS: Out of all the dealers we went to only one sales rep has called us back! I hope he calls back again.

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"We have to change or risk becoming irrelevant..."

Charan, Ram. What The Customer Wants You To Know. New York: Penguin Group, 2007 pp.82

12/8/2009

These weekly sales tips that I write come straight from something that has happened to me during my daily routine. This week I was reading Ram Charan's book What The Customer Wants You To Know  when I ran across this sentence (paraphrased): "We have to change or risk becoming irrelevant..." Ram Charan was writing about how we look at our customers and our sales process.

Even though the sales process of open, probe, pitch and close still has to happen all salespeople need to look at how they run their personal businesses. Here is a great example of why your reps need to keep changing:

Have you ever noticed that last years "A" player is this years "B" player? How about your sales department's turnover? How many "C" players will really be around next year? I had an old sales manager that used to say... "replace your "C" players with "A" players and you are sure to win." (I think he got that from this same book.)

It's very easy and a bit common for last years sales hero to become this year's sales goat. The salesperson in question didn't fall off the cliff they just didn't adapt to the new sales process as quick as the other representatives.

In other words all of the representatives sitting around them found new ways to open, probe, pitch and close. Last year's sales hero kept doing business the same old way and got left behind.

I have seen this trend in every organization I have either worked in or serviced. A good way to look at it is $1 million this year makes you an "A" player however $1 million dollars next year means that you may not have hit your quota. This is a very common problem to have as the sales force continues to advance.

You have to keep up, you have to change. Otherwise Mr. Charan has got it right. "You risk becoming irrelevant..."

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You just have to keep cold calling the prospects.

11/30/2009

I know that you know this but getting you to do it is another matter. You don't know exactly when or where that next warm lead is coming from. Sometimes they just drop onto your desk from some obscure RFI that was filled out on your company's web site. Sometimes a neighbor says something in passing that catches your ear (I just had this one over the Thanksgiving holiday.)

And sometimes you have to keep smiling and dialing, and force yourself to make that next cold call. Your next warm lead is on the other end of that telephone. You know that but the chore can seam larger than the reward while you are making that next call.

Here are two tips that may work for you.

1. Block off a set amount of time to conduct the cold calls. Put it in your calendar and don't schedule follow-up calls during that time. In fact don't multitask during this period either. Concentrate on the cold calls.
2. Try to make it fun by setting up a game with goals. Here's the game that I use... "I'm in a race, I'm going to make "X" amount of calls, OR I want at least "X" amount of warm leads."  The race is won when either the call goal is met or the lead goal is met.

The game may sound silly but it works. If you can't make it fun then your tenure at that seat is probably short lived. Cold calling is not easy and most sales reps try to avoid it. If you are avoiding the cold calls why should management hand you their warm leads from their RFIs when you are not trying to help yourself?

If you are struggling making your cold calls or you are always too busy to make the calls then I suggest that you do both of the tricks above. What have you got to lose? Make a game out of it and set aside the time in your calendar. The worse thing that can happen is that you get more leads!

To review all sales articles by David Peterson click here