The Difference Between Sales Success and Failure
Doyle Slayton | Dec 16, 2009 | Comments 12
Last week, I asked the question, “Is the sales mindset shifting?”
I want you to know exactly where I stand.
Selling is about being tough, confident, smart, adaptable, competitive, strategic, active, compelling, aggressive, professionally persistent, solution oriented, and slightly empathetic… It’s about hunting, and it’s about closing! If anyone is hoping to hear about a warm, fuzzy, cozy, softy approach to sales… it won’t come from me.
Sales people who win focus on…
- Cold Calling – This is the toughest part of sales. 1st priority… “opening the call”. Get that right and you will win!
- Emailing – Keep it short, sweet, and compelling.
- Follow Up – Provide a continuous flow of updates, new information, ideas, and solutions!
- Building Rapport – Making a connection, building trust
- Uncovering Needs – Asking great questions
- Applying Solutions – Matching appropriate products and services, building value
- Overcoming Objections – Understanding the real issues and easing prospect concerns
- Closing – Think like a bulldog… act like a kitten… get the deal!
Sales people who fail focus on…
- Not Being Intrusive - Don’t worry about being intrusive. You’re either going to get the deal or you’re not. Make yourself a priority!
- Waiting to Hear Back - The top performer you are competing against isn’t “waiting to hear back.”
- Ratio of Calls to Appointments – If you are focused on ratios and percentages… you will lose. To win, focus on volume and “end result” goals!
- Networking Events – Please stop inviting me to these… they are a waste of time!
- Keeping Things Tidy – Is it just me, or do non-performers have the cleanest desks?
- Too Much Empathy – Sales people with high empathy don’t succeed.
- Research – Your best research and fact finding happens while sitting in front of your prospect.
- Being Perfect - You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to win!
What else would you add to these success and failure lists?
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Filed Under: Blog • Reader Questions • Sales • SalesTaxi
Well stated.
The college books of marketing have several hundreds of pages of “theory” while your blog said it all in one page.
So in essence success is about “DOING” and not resting on your laurels.
Not sure if I agree with being aggressive and the close, because I’ve had many years of opening the right way and sales “just happen”.
I believe in the soft approach, and have found networking to work “extremely” well for building relationships with high level managers and execs (if you choose the right meetings where they gather), but also believe that most of them are a waste of time except a chosen few.
I would agree whole heartedly that you need to focus on “action” things, cold calling, emailing, connecting with centres of influence, creating joint ventures, and strategic alliances.
Believe me, if you take your focus and point it at the above strategic scenarios, “YOU WILL” end up with so much work you won’t have to cold call or email ever again.
Good post!
I would contend Mr. Slayton that LinkedIn is a networking event. The only difference being a number of stupid rules, you don’t get to where your best clothes, and the party never ends.
If it’s true, that networking events are a wastes of time, why are you here?
I would also contend that you are not properly approaching your networking activity if that has been your experience.
I have been working on a project for the last year and haven’t attended any live events for even longer.
However, in the last 3 weeks I attended 2 meetings from one group that I’d just joined and got 2 contracts and more stuff in the works.
I disagree with your suggestion that networking events are a waste of time. I would submit to you that they are just like golf clubs — give even a cheap club to the right man and he’ll still wax you with it.
It is not the equipment, or in this case the event, it’s the “networker!”
***
PS: I would add to your winners list “those who focus on the leader’s vision above all else.”
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Well said. I seldom visit this site due to work condition but this is what you call basics foundation of Selling. But if you don’t have a Goal in all your actions then no “steps” in success can give the “Win” for you.
Not sure if I agree with being intrusive. Becoming a pest can close you out. I DO agree you shouldn’t sit around and wait. I think the skilled person straddles the line between these….
Excellent points and I would add “Follow Through” as a must focus on because while every sales rep plans to have all the information available at the presentation some calls require follow up. If you committed to updating the proposal and having it back to your customer by the end of the day, “follow through” by getting it there by 3PM. So many reps will say “I’ll get back to you with no definite time in relation to the clients needs thus forcing the client to wait or worse case go elsewhere.
Good stuff! I would add that a successful salesperson presents the relationship (rapport) as a partnership. If you fail, I fail…I want to win, therefore you win and with teamwork in this relationship we will be successful! Let them know that you work for them. Let’s face it. Our company may write the check, but it is our customers and us that put the money on it!
I have a clean desk and have always been a top performer for over 25 years…everything is in my computer, tracked with ratios, percentages…and volume. Hunting is a numbers game…volume is a closing game that can’t be played consistently without hunting. You make some good comments but seem very old school. Glengarry Glen Ross like..
I was just about to buy something today on an inbound call. I had to go to a meetng. After politely asking twice if we could talk another time (and being ignored) I decided not to do business with this person.
I like aggressive, but I think all would agree that one must never step over the “rudeness” line.
Well said. The best salesperson is the last one out the door, has the best followthrough, is like a bulldog.
[...] by Bill Rice on December 22, 2009 Doyle Slayton, from Sales Blogcast, is my kinda sales guy! [...]
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