The ABCs of Sales Success
Posted by Victor Watts on Mon, Jul 20, 2009 @ 01:45 PM
Corporate leadership is based on basic fundamentals...
...and it often comes down to focusing the efforts of followers on such nuts and bolts like:
A. Listening to customers;
B. Producing quality outcomes and products, and;
C. Motivating employees to do the right things.
Sales Leaders - The Same Principles Apply!
The same basic leadership objectives may be applied to sales management. But anyone who's ever been a sales manager knows that getting all their sales people to consistently do the right things is a constant and significant challenge. And I don't think any successful sales manager will disagree with the idea that planning for an important sales call is one of the keys to getting and growing the business.
But how many of you truly believe that there is consistency among the sales staff when it comes to the quality and the messaging of that planning? ...I didn't think so.
Try This...
Before your next sales conference or staff conference call: Send out an email to your team and ask them to describe how they normally prepare for a sales meeting with a key account. Ask things like:
- How long does it take you to adequately prepare for an important call?
- What are the elements of your plan?
- What is the unique selling or value proposition that you use?
- Do you plan the questions you will ask in advance or do you just "wing it?"
- Have you thought through what objections you might face and how you will handle them?
- Do you always plan a meeting objective?
And how about...
- Do you carefully consider and plan how you will close against that meeting objective?
Based on my 25+ years of sales management experience, I think I can safely say you will be surprised by the wide variance in responses you will get. Or maybe you won't be surprised. Either way, I'd love to hear back on what you learn by completing that exercise.
And unless you're already making sure that pre-call planning is a key element of your team's sales process, I'm willing to bet that a little leadership guidance along these lines - supported with some very clear management expectations - will go a long way to getting those sales numbers where you'd like them to be!
Happy hunting!
Photo credit: coloradohousechurch
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