Issue 1/02 (50), 18 february 2002-18 april 2002
What Makes the Salesman Tick?
Today's complex business environment has changed the definition of what it takes to be a successful salesperson. These days, very good is rarely good enough.
What does it take to excel at sales? What separates the top performers from the merely good performers? Are there steps your organisation can take to help good performers learn how to excel?
To answer these questions in the context of today's sales challenges, AchieveGlobal conducted a series of global research projects in 2000 and 2001 to identify what salespeople do and say to be successful - and to identify the role that selling organisations play in this success.
AchieveGlobal analysed "daily observable behaviours" of salespeople inBrazil,China,France,Japan,Mexico,Poland,South Africa,Switzerland, theUnited Kingdomand theUnited States, and broke the results down into five major roles. The roles represent the selling process's core activities to which top-performing salespeople devote the bulk of their time:long-term ally, business consultant, strategic orchestrator, consistent cultivator and focused optimist.
The long-term ally role is all about the interpersonal aspect of selling and conveying a sense of shared purpose with the customer. Whether in a single 30-second phone call or a long-term relationship, successful salespeople know how to establish a connection with customers and how to find opportunities to demonstrate the shared purpose's importance.
Star performers know how crucial it is to develop mutual trust with customers. Trust gives them benefits that the average salesperson can only dream of: access to information they can leverage to keep or enhance their business; a human connection strong enough to withstand major problems with the account (or even a new competitive product); and an identification with their products or services so strong that star performers become one of the "benefits" that their customers will fight to keep.
Keep communication with the client open. In the analysis, the following was said of one top performer: "He would research their questions and then call them back. He called on his client regularly even if he didn't yet have an answer. He was available for them day and night. No one had ever given the client such service. When the client needed something, he called him directly."
The business consultant role calls for salespeople who are focused, accurate and knowledgeable about their products - as well as about their customers' needs, markets and business objectives. This knowledge enables them to serve as experts in creating solutions based on what they are selling.
Star performers are able to completely internalise their customers' points of view. They often seem, in fact, as much employees of their customers' organisations as they are of their own. This produces the following benefits: the stature to be asked by customers to help evaluate competitors' newly released products; the opportunity to give advice on customers' high-level decisions and policies that have a long-term impact on future sales; and invitations to cross-sell elsewhere in the organisation (instead of having to request access).
Stay current with customers' markets and business objectives. "I'd been trying to sell Internet advertising to a customer for eight years," said an advertising account executive. "Even though he had a web site, he wasn't interested. During the course of last year, whenever I saw articles about success in his line of business, I sent them to him. Two months ago, I made another presentation. This time he was more knowledgeable and ready to listen, and I made a very large sale."
The strategic orchestrator role is all about creating connections between and within the selling and buying organisations to expedite a sale, encourage the exchange of information, and make it easy for the customer to deal with the selling organisation.
The star performers in this role enjoy benefits that help improve their overall sales performance: a network of key players in their accounts; the ability to expedite all aspects of the selling process; and a personal infrastructure already in place within their own organisations to help them take on complex and highly profitable accounts.
Manage the sales process. The most effective salespeople know how to use teamwork to succeed. One small company that sells packaging materials was able to land a large regional packaging house by involving several of its own people in the sale. Said the account executive: "We used our president, who was instrumental in building personal rapport, and a customer-service person, who worked exclusively with their branch operations. I took the lead in writing and giving the presentation."
The consistent cultivator role is all about the salesperson's ability to plan and manage the totality of his or her accounts. Given today's competitive pressures and the trend toward establishing long-term relationships with a few select vendors, the ability to perform this role effectively can make or break a salesperson.
Star consistent cultivators can enjoy several benefits, many of them revenue related: time to take on more profitable accounts; a reputation for reviving dormant territories or accounts; and greater success at bringing in new accounts
Find ways to maintain and develop your existing accounts - for example, by collecting measurable evidence of the product's success in an account. A salesperson of a printing-services company said, "With 15 years of relations with the customer, it was very easy to document our standing with end users in the firm. When a new manager threatened to take their business somewhere else, we were able to present testimonials, samples of work and a short pricing structure to show him in quantifiable terms what he was getting. He ended up staying with us."
The focused optimist role is about creating a positive atmosphere that makes selling an enjoyable and frequent activity for sellers and buyers alike. The secret seems to be a combination of never-give-up persistence and an ability to maintain a sense of optimism that keeps them moving forward and causes others to want to work with them.
The star focused optimists enjoy several payoffs: the energy to persevere during tough times; access to the hard-to-reach top decision-makers; and consistently returned phone calls from customers.
The most successful salespeople seem to love what they're doing, and it shows. "Selling gives you pleasure," said one salesperson. "I couldn't describe it. It not only fills your pocket, but also your spirit and your heart."
Enthusiasm helps, but without persistence, it's a rudderless boat. Don't be afraid to be creative to get your foot in the door. An example: "The salesperson had a great idea of sending a coconut with a note painted on the outside. The customer laughed and called to find out who had sent such a crazy thing."
Those are the sales superstars. Customers love them. Co-workers admire them. Competitors want them. And you wish you had a whole sales team like that - especially now.
It's not out of reach. With a little help - you may have them.
Based on "Creating Sales Superstars. A Leader's Action-Planning Guide" by Edward Del Gaizo, AchieveGlobal. Selected by Agata Modrzejewska, Marketing Manager, AchieveGlobal LSP.