There is no podium in sales; the winner takes it all and the only winner is placed on the first position
05/10/2014
At a glance, if we are to scrutiny the recruitment websites, we find out that over 50% of the job offers are related to the sales.
However, many companies have given up posting generic sales jobs in the past years, as a consequence of realizing that a thorough and constant preparation is mandatory before one is able and ready to sale something, be it an object or a service. So that, “commercial agents” became the title for the job announcements they post to notify candidates that they are looking for already well-trained persons.
Those believing that any person who has learnt the product to be sold and its characteristics can be a good salesman, are terribly wrong. It’s similar to soccer or politics where everybody believes they "know" what is it about, but how many of us are able to equal the Angelo Lippi's or Margaret Thatcher's performance?
In my opinion, a good sales person is somebody having a good grounding in multiple domains, such as, commerce, psychology, financial accounting and engineering. If constant training is not always necessary in other fields, when it comes about commerce a good salesman needs to train at least one hour daily.
A good salesman needs to be anchored in the actual reality and to be detail-oriented. I used to tell trainees during every session of training I have held that the details will make the difference between two salesmen of equal value and will eventually lead to victory – therefore, only the 1st place will receive the glory.
Too many young managers rely only on their academic background. School teachers are important, they definitely set the right base and teach us where to look – e.g. who could belittle, for instance, Mircea Malita’s value, deserving to be named, in my opinion, The Founding Father of Romanian Diplomacy ?
However, it is very unlikely to gain good experience without getting support from Top Managers that are well-anchored in the reality of a market. Quoting an old proverb I can say "Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety". As such, I had the chance to be surrounded by many top managers who taught me to be detail-oriented and help me make the difference.
To name the few, Messrs. Dante Stein, Paul Cary, Pasquale Sepe, Luigi Sepe, Enrico Meneghetti, Traian Aionițoaiei, Adrian Tecușanu, Cristian Milea, Cristian Bică, Cătălin Gavra and the list could continue. However, I am also very found of the ones that I might not have mentioned here. Each and every one of them is a personality within their field of work and they have reached a certain level precisely because they solved each and every situation by starting with the details and because the seriousness they have shown while approaching problems is part of their philosophy of life.
Back to commercial aspects let me tell you that you have to be detail oriented proactively. You need not only to be cold calling but also writing, speaking, networking, creating unique marketing pieces, providing value to others every day, in many different ways. Many of the people I call receive over 150 emails and 50 phone calls every single business day. To be very successful you need to know 100 ways to be proactively sales oriented or you will never rise above the noise.
During the rare moments of spare time, I like to watch the Discovery Channel, National Geographic or Animal Planet. And I always tend to compare the animals' behavior with the one of the humans. Let me just give you this small piece of evidence:
“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. Knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. Knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you would better be running.”
Following your emails asking for feedback regarding the post sales activities, let me highlight below few aspects that I find important:
Always Send Follow Up Emails
After every meeting that you take part in with a client, make sure to send a follow up email. This is a small but significant gesture of good faith. More important, neglecting to do this could cost you dearly in a competitive market. If three or four companies are competing for a sale, the one whose sales representatives consistently follow up will be far more likely to win the deal. Send your follow up email out the same day, keeping it short but also friendly and informative. Thank your client quickly, and summarize what you talked about with them during the meeting.
Send Out a Thank You Card after Each Sale
This adds a personal touch to your selling process and wins a sense of loyalty from your client. You should keep high quality thank you cards on file at all times and hand writes a note inside, each time that you send one out. Take this same concept to the next level by sending birthday or holiday gifts to your clients. If you can, try to remember personal things about your client(s) so that you can tailor these gifts to better fit their tastes. The more personalized the gift, the more effective.
Always Deliver on Your Promises
Failing to do what you promise you will is one of the biggest blunders during a sales process, even if this is something as simple as failing to send out an email! For example: If you are in a meeting with a client who asks you a question that you don’t have an immediate answer for, you might promise to send the answer by email the next day. If you made this promise, keep it! This may seem like a small matter, but your credibility is no better than your word. If you don’t keep even the smallest commitment, this will affect the client’s trust in you.
Don’t Over Deliver Information
Information is always more valuable when it is specific and targeted. Never send your client more information than they need. You shouldn’t be sending them hundreds of pages of product information. They won’t have time to look at it, and will only resent you for giving them one more stack of paper to file away or put in the garbage. Giving good information to your clients is essential, but you don’t want to overdo it. Be mindful of which types of information will be useful to your client and which types will not and always act accordingly.
However, many companies have given up posting generic sales jobs in the past years, as a consequence of realizing that a thorough and constant preparation is mandatory before one is able and ready to sale something, be it an object or a service. So that, “commercial agents” became the title for the job announcements they post to notify candidates that they are looking for already well-trained persons.
Those believing that any person who has learnt the product to be sold and its characteristics can be a good salesman, are terribly wrong. It’s similar to soccer or politics where everybody believes they "know" what is it about, but how many of us are able to equal the Angelo Lippi's or Margaret Thatcher's performance?
In my opinion, a good sales person is somebody having a good grounding in multiple domains, such as, commerce, psychology, financial accounting and engineering. If constant training is not always necessary in other fields, when it comes about commerce a good salesman needs to train at least one hour daily.
A good salesman needs to be anchored in the actual reality and to be detail-oriented. I used to tell trainees during every session of training I have held that the details will make the difference between two salesmen of equal value and will eventually lead to victory – therefore, only the 1st place will receive the glory.
Too many young managers rely only on their academic background. School teachers are important, they definitely set the right base and teach us where to look – e.g. who could belittle, for instance, Mircea Malita’s value, deserving to be named, in my opinion, The Founding Father of Romanian Diplomacy ?
However, it is very unlikely to gain good experience without getting support from Top Managers that are well-anchored in the reality of a market. Quoting an old proverb I can say "Where no counsel is, the people fall, but in the multitude of counselors there is safety". As such, I had the chance to be surrounded by many top managers who taught me to be detail-oriented and help me make the difference.
To name the few, Messrs. Dante Stein, Paul Cary, Pasquale Sepe, Luigi Sepe, Enrico Meneghetti, Traian Aionițoaiei, Adrian Tecușanu, Cristian Milea, Cristian Bică, Cătălin Gavra and the list could continue. However, I am also very found of the ones that I might not have mentioned here. Each and every one of them is a personality within their field of work and they have reached a certain level precisely because they solved each and every situation by starting with the details and because the seriousness they have shown while approaching problems is part of their philosophy of life.
Back to commercial aspects let me tell you that you have to be detail oriented proactively. You need not only to be cold calling but also writing, speaking, networking, creating unique marketing pieces, providing value to others every day, in many different ways. Many of the people I call receive over 150 emails and 50 phone calls every single business day. To be very successful you need to know 100 ways to be proactively sales oriented or you will never rise above the noise.
During the rare moments of spare time, I like to watch the Discovery Channel, National Geographic or Animal Planet. And I always tend to compare the animals' behavior with the one of the humans. Let me just give you this small piece of evidence:
“Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up. Knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. Knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you would better be running.”
Following your emails asking for feedback regarding the post sales activities, let me highlight below few aspects that I find important:
Always Send Follow Up Emails
After every meeting that you take part in with a client, make sure to send a follow up email. This is a small but significant gesture of good faith. More important, neglecting to do this could cost you dearly in a competitive market. If three or four companies are competing for a sale, the one whose sales representatives consistently follow up will be far more likely to win the deal. Send your follow up email out the same day, keeping it short but also friendly and informative. Thank your client quickly, and summarize what you talked about with them during the meeting.
Send Out a Thank You Card after Each Sale
This adds a personal touch to your selling process and wins a sense of loyalty from your client. You should keep high quality thank you cards on file at all times and hand writes a note inside, each time that you send one out. Take this same concept to the next level by sending birthday or holiday gifts to your clients. If you can, try to remember personal things about your client(s) so that you can tailor these gifts to better fit their tastes. The more personalized the gift, the more effective.
Always Deliver on Your Promises
Failing to do what you promise you will is one of the biggest blunders during a sales process, even if this is something as simple as failing to send out an email! For example: If you are in a meeting with a client who asks you a question that you don’t have an immediate answer for, you might promise to send the answer by email the next day. If you made this promise, keep it! This may seem like a small matter, but your credibility is no better than your word. If you don’t keep even the smallest commitment, this will affect the client’s trust in you.
Don’t Over Deliver Information
Information is always more valuable when it is specific and targeted. Never send your client more information than they need. You shouldn’t be sending them hundreds of pages of product information. They won’t have time to look at it, and will only resent you for giving them one more stack of paper to file away or put in the garbage. Giving good information to your clients is essential, but you don’t want to overdo it. Be mindful of which types of information will be useful to your client and which types will not and always act accordingly.
