If you're a salesperson, you feel the weight of responsibility for the company's success greatly in times of upheaval, especially when you're suddenly told to sell a new product or service, open a territory you know nothing about or both. You have no say in the matter. You're about to go into the unknown, where your goal is to "get as close as you can to the top customers," observes Sean Geehan of Geehan Group Inc, a customer-centric consultancy in Dayton, Ohio. You either change with the company to re-establish your employment or resign.
Once you get your assignment, you might race to prospect. Geehan advises you first to "take a personal inventory. What does the new world look like? What skills are required to be successful there? Do a gap analysis to determine what you need to do. You can find a lot of these tools inexpensively on the web."
Part of this process, he maintains, is to speak with people who might become prospects about the issues that affect them. Write a research paper and you'll have lots to discuss. Focus on the other person's issues. "Plant a seed and don't be too quick to harvest," Geehan says.
How much time should you prospect after gaining a good sense of your market? Carl Sommers, principal and co-founder of WhiteboardSelling LLC, headquartered in Austin, Tex., advocates "50 percent at the outset." Paul Goldner, author of "Red-Hot Selling" (AMACOM $17.95), recommends 60 percent if you're new, less than 40 percent when your pipeline is beginning to fill and about 10 percent when you become a top seller (see graph). Geehan again counsels restraint, indicating that the amount of time is "proportionate to the complexity of the offerings you have. Invest your time in calling prospects to ask questions. We shortchange ourselves by knocking on doors too soon."
Meanwhile, if you're like many salespeople, you might have problems motivating yourself to make calls. "Red-Hot Selling" maintains that the "fear of rejection" pulls you back. Sommers attributes the problem to the difficulty of not "knowing how to navigate the company and get to the decision-maker." Clear the decks and find the stamina for this task.
Should you go after the account leader in your market? "Set your sights high," Geehan states. "Go to the industry leader if it's collaborative. 'Market leader' doesn't necessarily mean 'great customer' if the company treats suppliers poorly. You get a real partnership when you have a collaborative one." Sommers partially agrees, stating that "a marquee customer helps" and that you should approach of companies of all sizes, but especially the larger ones.
"Red-Hot Selling" will help you start over successfully. Follow its advice:
• shoot for "a closing ratio of 33 percent" and reassess as results materialize;
• avoid the occupation's greatest time-waster – "working with smaller accounts before you have fully worked the larger accounts in your territory. ..."
• identify the key factor that determines the size of sales, such as the number of people who will use your product or service.
• listen for invitations to meet "based on an unfilled need (assuring) about a 50 percent chance of identifying a new sales opportunity."
• seek out large accounts – the "secret to sales success" – because of the likelihood of generating substantial revenue, obtaining recurring sales year-long and gaining the freedom to sell to other accounts.
Goldner also cautions against weakening your professional image if you contact small accounts, then turn them away after securing larger ones. Of course, if you're selling a hot product or service and they held back, they share in the responsibility.
When company change requires you to develop a new campaign, work systematically. Consider Geehan's method of getting close to big customers before you actually start selling. It works.
Dr. Mildred Culp welcomes your questions at culp@workwise.net. © 2010 Passage Media.
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