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A profile of behaviors
How to recognize the right salesperson
by John Graham
What does it take to be the type of salesperson who produces positive results
year after year? Just ask any sales manager or salesperson this question.
Each one will have a ready answer. Not surprisingly, it usually mirrors
the way they think of themselves.
But that aside, we all seem to think we know what it takes to be a sales
pro. “He’s a great closer.” “She won’t quit
until she gets the appointment.”
“Martha is relentless
when it comes to follow-up.” “You can count on George to up-sell
every customer.” “There’s no one in banking that Richard
doesn’t know.” “He’s great at cold calling.”
And “No one can hold a candle to Liz when it comes to building relationships.”
On it goes.
But there’s more to quality selling performance than even outstanding
traits. And there’s more to it than even spotting the right traits.
What’s often missing in identifying sales excellence is a profile
of behaviors. These form a constellation of qualities that separate
the average from the extraordinary salesperson.
Being friendly, personable, and attentive are helpful, of course. So is
being aggressive and persistent. But even more critical are such easily
identifiable behaviors as these:
1. This is the salesperson
who invests time understanding customers rather than simply “qualifying”
them. The difference is as wide as the Grand Canyon. This is the
salesperson who asks lots of questions to gain an in-depth understanding
of the customer’s operation with the objective of uncovering what
is being done well and where there are unresolved––and often
unidentified––problems. Never even thinks about asking, “Who
makes the buying decisions?” or “When do you expect to place
the order?” Such issues will be addressed normally through the information
gathering process.
Of course every salesperson should be adept at qualifying customers. No
one wants to spend time getting the order only to discover that there are
credit problems. But “qualifying” has another meaning––figuring
out if the person is ripe to buy. The right salesperson wants to make every
possible sale, but recognizes that from today’s contacts come tomorrow’s
customers as well. This is quite different from a commitment to understanding
them so they see you on their side, and not just another salesperson looking
for a quick sale.
2. This is the salesperson who uses knowledge to attract customers.
Although there is something to be said for relationships fostered on common
interests and other forms of compatibility, more is needed today; frankly,
much more.
The primary task for salespeople is getting customers to want to do business
with them––and no one else. The right salesperson recognizes
that products and services change, as do customer needs. Therefore, this
salesperson builds a knowledge bond with customers that is based
on bringing their expertise, ability to analyze problems, and articulate
solutions to bear on customer issues.
It’s easy to test this behavior. Customers often ask, “Even
though it has nothing to do with what you sell, could I run something by
you?” The attraction is knowledge.
3. This is the
salesperson who stays close to customers because buying decisions take longer
than ever. The right salespeople know that customers are unpredictable
when making buying decisions. For example, they have made presentations
and six months or a year later, the customers call and indicate they are
ready to move ahead.
They have also discovered that writing off a customer too soon can be a
major mistake. After one or more meetings the salesperson decides this particular
customer isn’t going to buy. Then a year or so later, a competitor
gets the business. More often than not, it is failing to stay in contact
with the customer that causes the problem. The customer perceives the lack
of contact as a lack of interest.
There is always that initial flurry of calls and meetings––and
when the prospect fails to buy––there’s silence. This
sends the message that the salesperson is no longer interested. Should it
be surprising that the customer looks elsewhere when it’s time to
sign the order?
Every salesperson knows that decisions are taking longer than ever.
Because of this, it’s a mistake to assume that the customer has no
genuine interest in buying.
4. This is the salesperson who expects prospecting to be company-driven.
This one is a hot potato! While the right salesperson is always
alert to spotting new business opportunities, he or she refuses to spend
valuable selling time simply trying to get through someone’s door.
John R. Supinski of Maryland, a Registered Health Underwriter, has been
in sales for 17 years. Along with so many others, he recognizes the fundamental
shift that has taken place in selling. “Cold calling is the worst
thing I’ve ever done…it’s demoralizing.” Is he lazy,
obstinate, or just a pain? From the viewpoint of the customer, his point
is well taken. The day of “spending valuable time trying to get your
foot in the door” is gone. The major task is establishing conditions
so you will be invited through the door.
Customers are turned off by the “office or home invasion” techniques
used by so many salespeople today. Their actions are blatant indications
that making the sale is more important than anything else––including
meeting customer needs. When the salesperson is “invited in,”
the atmosphere is welcoming, professional, and non-defensive.
5. This is the salesperson who becomes one with customers.
When talking about their customers, the highly competent salesperson unconsciously
uses “we” rather than “they.” Nothing is contrived.
It’s so natural, they don’t realize what they are saying. They
so completely put themselves in the customer’s shoes, they become
one with the customer.
A marketing firm’s president was telling a colleague about his work
with a particular client. After a few minutes, the business associate asked,
“It sounds as if you have a financial interest in the company.”
The marketing executive was taken aback by the comment. “What makes
you say that?” he asked. “You kept saying ‘we,’”
came the response.
“We” is simply an expression of
the quality of the business relationship.
6. This is the
salesperson who serves as the customer’s consultant. Some
salespeople say they walk when the customers start asking for information.
That’s a short-sighted view. What we’re really discussing here
is “mindset,” or attitude. And it’s not so-called “consultative
selling,” where salespeople attempt to present themselves as “consultants”
but have no intention of fulfilling the role.
At the bagged feeds group of Agway, Inc., the feed company serving the Northeast
and Mid-Atlantic states, the equine feed salespeople spend their time with
owners of horses. They are welcome at farms because of the knowledge they
share with customers and the resources they have available to assist horse
owners.
Agway, the major animal feed company in the Northeast, trains its equine
feed salespeople to serve as consultants to their customers, bringing their
education and experience to bear in helping to solve problems. It so happens
that the trust and confidence that develops often results in owners of horses
buying Agway feeds from a dealer––not the salesperson. Agway
Bagged Feeds marketing and sales manager Bob Mulrooney recognizes the value
of having salespeople who see themselves as consultants. “When our
customers realize they can count on us for the quality of our advice, they
quickly transfer this to the quality of our feed. When they like having
us around for what we know, they also want the products we sell.”
7. This is the salesperson who knows how to say no.
There are some sales that should not be made––when it’s
in the best interest of the customer to take a pass. But most salespeople
are so conditioned to get every possible order that they cannot turn down
a sale, even when they know it’s not right for the customer. They’ve
invested time and effort and they have a live one on the line. No one wants
to walk away from those sales.
The right salesperson does exactly that. He or she walks away when it becomes
clear that what is being sold to the customer won’t solve the problem.
Ad agency account managers, for example, are adept at sensing when a prospective
client wants to spend money on a big, glitzy brochure. Perhaps the motivation
is to keep up with the competition or to satisfy some ego needs.
Yet, the experienced agency person knows that the brochure won’t really
benefit the company. But it’s an easy sale. It happens every day in
every industry. And if you try to dissuade the prospect from doing the brochure,
chances are they will go to someone else.
The right salesperson recognizes the fallacy of making the wrong
sale.
8. This is the salesperson who understands that the company
matters. For what now seems as one brief second, even though it
lasted for seven or eight years, business was victimized by “free
agentry.” One survey of about 1,100 employees in Silicon Valley showed
that they had averaged three jobs in about 13 months. Resumes were filled
with a long series of jobs that looked more like “rest stops”
than they did anything else.
How times change. Today, those employers look with caution at those same
resumes. Few want to hire Mexican jumping beans.
Company loyalty is back in style. Even the most competent salespeople recognize
that they need all the competitive advantage they can get today. And one
important component is the company they represent.
9. This
is the salesperson who exhibits a commitment to the future. Everyone
knows what happens to a beagle when it ventures out on a busy street. It’s
sure death because its nose is down on the ground. Many salespeople have
the “Beagle Syndrome.” They are only concerned about what’s
happening today and they fail to see what’s going on around them.
“We have learned that…the past will be a poor guide
to the future and that we shall forever be dealing with unanticipated events,”
states “business philosopher” Charles Handy. “Given that
scenario, organizations…will need individuals who delight in the unknown.”
When a salesperson says, “It’s just become a rat race”
or “I hate to get up in the morning,” this isn’t burnout
as much as it reflects a long-term misunderstanding of what selling is all
about.
The right salesperson prepares his customers for what’s coming and
how to cope with change and the unknown.
Whether you call this “the right salesperson” or just “a
good salesperson” makes no difference. It’s the selling behaviors
that are important, that set the competent apart from the run-of-the-mill
sales rep. It’s what they do that separates the average from the peak
performer.
© 2004 Graham Communications
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John R. Graham is president of Graham Communications,
a marketing services and sales consulting firm. Mr. Graham is the
author of four books on marketing and sales, including Break the Rules
Selling: Success Strategies that Beat the Competition (Superior Books).
Mr. Graham writes for a variety of marketing and sales columns for
business and trade publications and he presents his Magnet Power presentations
at company and association meetings. He can be contacted at 40 Oval
Rd., Quincy, MA 02170; by telephone at 617-328-0069; by fax at 617-471-1504;
or by email at j_graham@grahamcomm.com. The web site is grahamcomm.com. |
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