You should be asking for help whether or not you are making your sales goals. You will make selling a lot easier when you get help. Here’s what to ask for.
Ask for selling tools.
All too often I see salespeople who are tasked with figuring out how to sell. This is unfair to the salesperson and unrealistic for sales success. Your company’s management should develop your sales process including how to reach prospects. Ask for what you need if you feel like you’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool and told to swim.
Start with some specific questions for your sales manager. You need to know why customers should pick you over competition. Ask your manager to provide 10 reasons why a prospect should prefer your products and your company. Consider the product itself, your company’s characteristics and any operational considerations.
Ask for coaching.
Unfortunately, sometimes what you think happens during a sales call is different than what your customer thought. You need another pair of eyes and ears to critique what you’re saying and doing especially if you want to get better results. Your sales manager can be the person to help.
Hopefully your sales manager is a good salesperson and can critique your sales performance. What you want to do is define the role you want your sales manager to have during the sales call. You do not want him taking over the call. You want him to read the situation and tell you what he saw.
I recommend you bring your manager on those sales calls with especially difficult customers. I once brought my manager on a sales call with a prospect who consistently gave me terse answers to my questions. It was awkward and he was a difficult prospect. Imagine my surprise when I asked my boss, a very accomplished sales professional, what he thought about our sales call. My boss said, “Looks like that guy got on the mashed potato line when they were giving out brains.”
Ask for what you need.
What if your manager isn’t giving you what you need to sell? Talk with your manager if your manager isn’t meeting your expectations. Of course you will not start the conversation with, “You’re failing me badly.” Instead, consider this just like a sales call. What is your objective? It’s to get what you need from your manager to sell. Know what that is before the meeting.
During the meeting be clear about what you want. Talk about how you want to plan your joint sales calls before you have them if you want a better outcome. Describe the types of information you need if you’re getting deluged with too much email. Be polite and respectful and hopefully the meeting will be a successful one.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength. People who can ask for what they need often get it. Who wouldn’t want more help so they can sell more?
Best wishes for your sales success!
