My Guest writer this week is Chip Doyle with Sandler Training. Chip is a great sales trainer who I worked with when I first started my coaching business almost 10 years ago. I’ve found the information I learned from him to be extremely powerful and easy to use even now (especially when I use it consistently…), so I’m delighted to share some of his wisdom here with you!
Most people think that good sales technique is based on one’s ability to adapt their product offering to the wants and needs of their prospect. That is not correct. The job of the salesperson is to identify prospects that have problems that our existing product or service consistently fixes. In today’s information society where prospects have the ability to research and compare, it is no longer possible to adapt our offering without the prospect seeing the re-positioning tactic.
Yes, some companies thrive on their ability to create new products or services that prospects will buy, but that responsibility falls on the shoulders of the Product Development department. Have you ever seen a salesperson repeatedly return from sales calls and ask their manager for a different color, a “stripped down” version or a sample with a new capability your company has never offered? And they want this to sell to just one single prospect? It’s a common issue I see with salespeople. I emphatically agree that Product Development should work with the sales team – I just don’t think that Product Development should be the sales team.
“There must be consistency in direction” – W. Edwards Deming
Lack of consistency is a major culprit in sales and sales management:
– Seller/doer consultants that fail to consistently market causing huge swings in their revenue and production
– Salespeople that refuse to let go of the unlikely prospect rather than consistently prospecting for new
– Salespeople that lack a consistent structure to manage a sales call
– Organizations that have an inconsistent 30 second or elevator pitch
– Sales managers that unpredictably alter their expectations and goals for their salespeople frequently
– Hiring managers select salespeople on gut feel instead of a systematic vetting process
The McDonald’s recipe for success is consistency. It may be a tired analogy but consistency is one key to success in sales for any business.
Good Selling,
Chip Doyle
Copyright 2011 Sandler Training Inc. All rights reserved
You can learn more from Chip here: http://www.chipdoyle.sandler.com
I agree with Chip – consistency of sales and marketing efforts is one of the biggest challenges I see with the entrepreneurs that I’ve worked with over the years. The more systematic you can be with these activities, the more success you will find.
To your Success~
Michele
