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1.
Ditching the
âSalesmanâ Mentality
By AJ Brasel
When I first started a career in sales, I often found myself cringing a little bit whenever people asked what I did for a living. I never wanted to be considered a commission-hungry salesman that preyed on the weak to line my own pocketbook. A career in sales, in my mind, carried a âUsed Car Salesmenâ stigma that I found extremely unpalatable. A few months into my career, I decided to ditch the mentality of doing what was best for me and started to work on doing things that were in the best interest of my customers. Showing a true concern for the best interest of your customerâs well-being helps build a relationship that has a strong foundation of trust; your customers will stop being suspicious of your intentions and will look to you as more of an advisor. The result is the same â increased compensation â but youâll end up enjoying a longer and more fulfilling career as a result. The key to gaining this mentality can be broken down into three solid fundamentals: fully understanding your customerâs needs, setting realistic customer expectations and knowing when to walk away from a prospect.
Trying to plug a product or solution into a situation that it doesnât fit into might yield short-term success, but will end up causing issues in the long run. Whenever you first engage with a prospective customer, itâs extremely important to ask qualifying questions and spend most of your time listening. One of the biggest pitfalls salespeople get themselves into is thinking they need to go into a call and over communicate how life-changing their product is. Forcing your way into a prospectâs pocketbook by overselling does work and Iâve seen reps be successful doing it, but in the long run, you will kill your chances of repeat business and find yourself needing to work harder to bring in new leads. The best way to start to plant that seed of trust is to go into all calls without worrying what is going to make you the most money. Start the meeting by asking a few open-ended qualifying questions and letting your customer lead you to the sale by giving you information. If you spend your time listening to the prospectâs current pain points and needs, they will tell you everything you need to know to get the sale and look like a hero in the long run. Opening a dialog will allow your prospect to be part of the buying process and will give them confidence that by going with your product or solution, they are getting the best outcome. Over time, the customer will continue to come back to you and look to you for additional solutions when needed. This is going to minimize pricing pressure from other suppliers, as well as hard feelings if something ever did go wrong in the long run.
Setting unrealistic expectations to win a deal is another tendency I commonly see in sales representatives looking to line their pockets. So many people have issues with saying ânoâ or explaining the limitations of their product or service. There are always nuances in business that can cause problems with a client-vendor relationship. Whether the issue lies with the product or pitfalls in the supply chain, it is extremely important to set expectations up front. This way, whenever something does go wrong, it doesnât send the entire deal into a spiral. The best sales representatives are honest with their customer and let them know of common pitfalls up front. Selling a deal with those in the open will create a longer-lasting customer relationship with that foundation being built on trust. If a customer expects flawless quality and execution, then whenever an issue arises, the representative that sold to them will undoubtedly lose all credibility in the future. Customers always appreciate honesty â if a rep sets realistic expectations, then the entire deal will be easier and the customer will feel confident communicating with the salesperson throughout the relationship.
The final and most important way to overcome the stigma of being a greedy salesperson is knowing when to walk away from a deal. If a representative follows the first two points mentioned earlier (listening to the prospect and setting realistic expectations) and the prospectâs needs donât fit, it is always acceptable to walk away. Winning a deal that doesnât fit might yield immediate payment, but will cause issues and headaches in the long run. I often see salespeople win opportunities that were not a good fit, and they either lose that deal (burning a bridge in the process) or spend countless prospecting hours cleaning up a mess. Whenever I am mentoring new sales reps â this is a point I always stress. Being completely honest and upfront with a prospect, and then walking away if necessary, might build confidence that could open doors with that customer down the line whenever a different need comes up. A deal that isnât the right fit is doomed from the start and walking away from it will give you the time to focus on partnerships that are long-lasting and will yield long-term positive results.
AJ Braselâs Bio
Differentiating Yourself Through Goal Setting
Overcoming the Price Objection
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2.
Determination and Persistence
By Dayna Leaman
Some accounts make you wonder why you stayed in sales, let alone decided it was a good idea to start in the first place. I think many of us have these thoughts in our head at some point.
I know that more than one account brought me to this point. Maybe thatâs because the model for Higher Education technology sales is quite⌠wellâŚcrazy. For starters, the sales cycle is typically long, similar to waiting at the DMVâŚbut longer. Many customers demand constant change, while others demand none at all. Most of all, it includes several layers of decision-makers, all of whom could undermine the process at multiple points.
Let me explain. In selling technology in education, the sales rep rarely sees the actual buyer: the student who uses the platform to study for her courses. Itâs an odd way to do business, but nearly every player in the market approaches it in this way. So, while the nature of the business is changing constantly, itâs mainly the professor that makes the final decision about which book is being usedâand if the technology is being used at all. Once the professor makes the decision, the bookstore orders the package and posts the required course materials on their website. If the stars align or the Cleveland Browns win the Super Bowl (whichever happens first), the students buy it or they purchase it directly online from the publisher or bookstore. Whatâs more likely to happen? Students figure out how they will not use it, thereby not making the purchase and saving the money for some sort of social gathering that involves coins, plastic cups and a fermented substance made with wheat. A final alternativeâthe Hail Mary-- students figure out how much itâs worth towards their grade, and once again ask themselves: âIs this really worth it?â
Yes, this is my fateâalong with never winning the door prize at any of these company functions. However, I manage the sales process. Itâs a little odd, not selling directly to your customer, but there are others who do it, right? And they make money too, right? Itâs always been my motto to begin with the end in mind. One of my great mentors at Wiley, Bonnie Liberman, used to tell me this a lot, especially when I was frustrated or confused by this rather oxymoronic process. Case in point? My âendâ was making sure that Christine Smith at Tulane University was going to use my Financial Accounting text and learning platform, WileyPLUS. Allow me to share this story with you.
I tried for years to have Christine use my products, but she was too busy with going to school while teaching, helping her students, and keeping up with all the demands of teaching and working at a university. She always had a line of students outside her door during her office hours (many of whom, no doubt, felt that their âCâ should be upgraded to a âBâ); it was simply just hard to get to her. Youâd have a better chance of meeting up with Aaron Judge after a game at Yankee Stadium. This happens a great deal in this business, but some people just donât want to change their approach or mindset. This is where fortune favors the bold.
Christine taught Intermediate Accounting for years. While we had wonderful conversations where she promised to review my products, she just never made the time or showed any real willingness to change. I got tired of waiting, so I found other âfish to fry.â Nonetheless, I never forgot about Christine. I knew that whatever opportunity she might still be able to present, I had to make a number. Her business, at least for the present and immediate future, was not going to be in that number.
Then, as always in sales, something changes--something truly out of your control. Christineâs father, who taught the Financial Accounting course, suddenly passed away. She then decided to take over the course. Showing more perseverance than the coyote after falling off yet another cliff after chasing the roadrunner, I thought I saw a way in! However, there are many details I didnât initially realize; for example, she was involved with another publisher and had an agreement with them that she would use the same text her father had used.
Time passed and, as we often see in sales, time can both help ...
