SALES QUOTE
“No customers ever asked for an automobile. They said, "We have horses, what could be better?”
……..- William Edwards Deming, Ph.D., International Quality Expert
For Salespeople…
I often say that customers don’t know what customers don’t know. That means you have to help them see what they could be improving in their businesses by buying something from you. To do that, you have to know what your customers don’t know. Stay with me here. What I’m leading you to see is that great sales professionals have vision. You’ve got to be able to see the things that others can’t or won’t see.
What do you need to see? Here are a few things: How to get past a customer being happy with a current product; the reason that a new prospect would want to meet with you so you get the appointment; and why a customer should pay more for your product than a cheaper competitor’s product. That’s why you need creativity skills to sell. How do you develop them? You read lots of different types of books and magazines. You open yourself to new experiences. You have a variety of friends with interests different than your own.
Deming is right, too. It’s not been too long that the research indicated that the majority of customers did not want to pay for seat belts, air bags or antilock brakes. Now you can’t sell a vehicle without those features. Customers don’t know what they don’t know. That’s why salespeople with vision can help customers begin to know what they should buy.
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THE BLOG S AND OTHER COLUMNS
I’m now writing The Real Deal, a column on women in business for Allbusiness.com Hope you’ll read more ideas so you can achieve your success in business.
You can get RSS feed for the blog.
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THE SELLING IDEAS FOR THE MONTH
When You Are the Customer
You may find that most of your time is focused on your customers—the ones who buy from you. There is another important customer to think about in sales. It’s you. If you haven’t thought about your satisfaction as an employee, you can find research on how salespeople want to be managed. What you do with these results can make your selling and your job more satisfying.
Salespeople are different. Marjorie Mathison Hance is the Chair of the Business Administration Department at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a former National Sales Manager for Honeywell. In 2001, she conducted a research study on how sales professionals want to be managed. Sales professionals are unique because they represent the only function in a company not located close to its management. As a result, day-to-day contact varies greatly and feedback and communication can become more challenging. Mathison Hance examined critical aspects of management that were desired by different age groups in sales organizations. These critical aspects included: communication and feedback, support and mentoring, motivation, desirable and undesirable management behaviors, and tenure with their companies.
The findings. Four multinational companies participated in the survey. Survey results of all surveyed were 89% indicated the amount of feedback they receive from their managers was “about right,” even though the amount of feedback varied greatly by age group. Those in the 21 – 30 year age range wanted contact with their managers several times a week, while those 40 and over wanted contact once a week or less. Weekly feedback was important to all age groups (44% overall indicated this was important.) Telephone is clearly the way respondents most preferred to have their Sales Managers communicate with them (68% vs. 14% email, or 16% in person.) Not surprisingly, less than 1% of all respondents preferred communication through written memos. There were 57% of those age 56-60 who preferred email, with telephone the second choice at 43%. No one in this age group preferred having his/her manager come in person. Mathison Hance comments, “These people want to work with knowledgeable people who get back to them fast.”
Most interestingly, one-third indicated that their managers did not communicate with them in the way they most wanted. For almost a third of those whose communication preference didn’t match that of their managers, the manager communicated by phone and the sales representative wanted them to come in person. This was especially true for those under 30. For 20% of those whose communication preference did not match their managers’ preferences, their manager communicated in person and the sales professional wanted them to phone instead. For 18% who had managers who communicated via phone, they preferred email.
Why the results are important. Just as in any career, job satisfaction is important. In this survey, the primary motivator across all ages was job satisfaction. Many managers focus on motivating salespeople with prizes and other strategies. Mathison Hance says, “Bonuses and incentives do focus attention in the short term, but what motivates for the long term is job satisfaction.” Mathison Hance says that sales reps want job satisfaction. How one communicates with one’s manager and the frequency of communication contributes to job satisfaction. She says, “Other aspects of job satisfaction included how supportive sales reps felt their managers were, how satisfactory their interaction was with peers— especially for younger reps and how interesting their work was.”
Job satisfaction is individually determined by the sales rep. Let your manager know what job satisfaction means to you. Managers sometimes assume they know when they may not. While your manager may determine the frequency of face-to-face contact, you could discuss your preference for email or telephone communication. Mathison Hance’s research found that job satisfaction was three times more likely than salary or opportunity for advancement to be the reason sales professionals would leave their companies. The good news for managers is that the research showed that 65% of all respondents indicated they would like to stay with that company for the rest of their career, or as long as the company would have them. It was even higher (73%) for those ages 21-30. Perhaps it is the strong corporate values these companies represent that contributed to this result.
Yes, having satisfied customers is important. Just remember to consider yourself as one of the customers so you can have a long and satisfying sales career.
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ACTION ITEMS
1. Are you satisfied with the amount and type of communication you receive from your manager?
2. If not, discuss with your manager how you would prefer to communicate. You could say, “Did you know it’s a lot easier for me to act on your information when you…”
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Programs
You can check for current programs.
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Most companies report that only 10 percent to 25 percent of the inquiries sent to their sales channels are followed up. How many lead generation dollars are you wasting?
Source: Target Marketing.
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A GREAT SELLLING TIP
A great website to help sales professionals especially so they can travel light is:
https://www.onebag.com/
You’ll learn new strategies to pack light so you can focus on your business and not be distracted from a poorly planned trip.
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Here are some selling tools to help you sell more now. Click on the photo to find out more!
Monday Morning Sales Tips : A book that has quick ideas for you to be more successful in sales. Real-World Selling: A book with selling skills and strategies that work in the real world of sales. Secrets of Persuasion: Audio CD for the clues to use to speed-read people and close more business.