Our nation is going through some drastic changes on a local, national and global level. How does this impact the profession of sales?
Sales Professionals as Our National Differentiator?
By Tim Moore
Our country is no longer the manufacturing power it once was. Low cost manufacturers from all over the world are now able to offer high quality products at lower prices than many of our American companies. Some industry experts believe our America’s expertise in selling is what will allow us to continue to compete in an increasingly difficult global marketplace.
Is the sales profession capable of reinventing itself?
In the late 1950’s and 1960s, the United States dominated the world economy. Today our share of the pie has shrunk to less than 25 percent. The global marketplace has undergone enormous changes. If the sales profession is to be our ticket to future economic success, then we must see and conduct ourselves in the profession differently.
Though Americans have generally not regarded sales as a desirable career, statistics indicate that over 50 percent of all students who graduate become sales people directly out of college—with no meaningful training to prepare them. The result is a higher turnover rate in sales than almost any other profession.
If the sales profession is to be America’s expertise and differentiator in the global market, experts now tell us that college level preparation is a must for a career in sales. I contend that a college degree does not completely prepare you for a successful sales career. To truly understand sales and be a highly productive and effective sales person you must enroll in a sales training curriculum that prepares you for the profession and how you should think, plan and conduct yourself.
Part of the challenge they face is Americans’ historic discomfort with salesmen. Relying on charm, high pressure tactics, or simple faith in their product’s virtues, salesmen have rarely inspired respect or trust in American culture.
Business leaders today agree that successful salespeople must become a trusted advisor to their customer rather than a pitchman or a closer.
Let’s say you’re a salesperson and you’ve had a few good meetings with a prospect. You’ve successfully overcome their objections. Before you close the deal, you must ask yourself a very important question.
Before you move forward, you need to put yourself in the prospect’s shoes. Does it make sense for the prospect to do business with you?
When answering that question, you must be objective; something that’s not easy when your ego is on the line. You must also be totally honest; something that’s not so easy when commission is on the line. Will the prospect be better off choosing you over your competitors or just not taking action at all?
While it’s easy to get excited about closing a sale, closing the wrong prospect will damage your credibility. The wrong prospect may receive some value from your product or service, but that’s not enough. The wrong prospect becomes a bad client. A bad client, in turn, has more issues that will take the time of you or your colleagues to address.
There is an opportunity cost associated with dealing with problem clients. Every minute spent trying to satisfy them is time not spent building stronger relationships with your best prospects and clients.
What it really boils down to is choosing to do business with those prospects that have the potential to be raving fans. Treat your prospects honestly and ethically and they’ll become raving fans if your product or service meets and exceeds their expectations. By focusing on these types of clients and weeding out the poor fit ones, you’ll be in a position to exponentially grow your business through positive word-of-mouth and referrals. This won’t happen if you are willing to sacrifice the wrong prospect’s satisfaction for your immediate gratification.
~
Tim Moore is Principle and Owner of the Dancing Elephants Achievement Group of the Carolinas. His mission is to show entrepreneurs and salespeople how to make more money in less time than they ever thought possible. Tim fills his days with teaching classes, private coaching and making presentations around the country. For more information, visit www.saleselephant.com or send an email to Tim@deagsales.com .
02:30 pm - 04:30 pm Prospecting and Cold-Calling Like Your Business Depends On It! Sales Training Center at the BNC in Cary Cary, North Carolina Information and Registration
12:30 pm - 02:00 pm Success Workshop Series for Direct Sales and Network Marketers! Sales Training Center at the BNC in Cary Cary, North Carolina Success Workshop Series for Direct Sales and Network Marketers!
September 22, 201012:30 pm - 02:00 pm September 15th - Success Workshop Series for Direct Sales and Network Marketers! Sales Training Center at the BNC in Cary Cary, North Carolina Success Workshop Series for Direct Sales and Network Marketers!
September 24, 201011:30 am - 01:30 pm September - Final Friday Forum Sales Training Center at the BNC in Cary Cary, North Carolina Information
September 29, 201012:30 pm - 02:00 pm Success Workshop Series for Direct Sales and Network Marketers! Sales Training Center at the BNC in Cary Cary, North Carolina Success Workshop Series for Direct Sales and Network Marketers!
View dates »2010 Speaker Line-Up for Final Friday Forums Dancing Elephants Achievement Group of the Carolinas announces the premier list of speakers that it will present at their Final Friday Forums for 2010. ...Read more »
Dancing Elephants Renews Partnership with BNC Dancing Elephants Achievement Group renews partnership with the Business Networking Center to provide a satellite campus for sales training workshops. ...Read more »
Farm Credit Chooses Tim Moore of DEAG Farm Credit Systems chooses Tim Moore of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group to deliver keynote speech on negotiations for their sales team. Dancing Elephants is the sales training team for Farm Credit of the Virginias. ...Read more »
Shook out the cobwebs and made me remember some things that I had stopped doing.