Have you ever hired a salesperson and ended up disappointed and out of pocket? From what I hear this is a situation that affects many business owners. So much so that it often stops businesses from growing as hiring the right salesperson can be a massive stumbling block.
Vidal Sassoon once said: ‘The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary’. I think this is very true and is often at the heart of the problem. Sales people are frequently blamed for being lazy and not pulling their weight so the above definitely applies. Though, in sales, like a lot of other things, working hard does not necessarily bring automatic success. There are many other things to consider such as realistic goals, defined target markets, accurate data and so on. So how do you make your sales operation a success?
This is a big questions and I don’t claim to have the magic answer for it. But keeping with my helpful nature, I thought that seeking inspiration from good sales Blogs might help. So here are some snippets from some of my favourite sales Blogs which I hope make helpful reading:
- It might come as a surprise to you but good sales people, like any good people, have professional standards:
Anthony Iannarino who writes the Sales Blog posted a good article about things you just should not do when selling, for example: ‘Never begin a sales conversation with a lie. The foundation of your relationship and the currency you trade in is trust. Don’t tell me you’re following up on an email that you never sent. Don’t tell me that you are following up on a LinkedIn conversation I had with your boss that I know never happened…’ Read more
- Working hard in sales is important but where do you start:
Tibor Shanto from Sell Better, recently wrote about how important prospecting is: ‘One thing that differentiates the complete salesperson, the sales people who can execute all elements of the job, not just the easy ones or the ones they like, is their understanding that prospecting is a sale. Perhaps the hardest sale of all, selling the appointment. The same instincts, skills and disciplines it takes to sell the product or service, are involved in selling an appointment, it’s just that the prospect is not yet a willing participant. Which is why you need to take the attitude that the appointment has to be sold’… Read More
- And finally, how do you know who to choose as your new salesperson?
There is lots of advice out there about sales recruitment and development but I particularly like this one from Coleen Stanley of Sales Leadership: ‘Hire salespeople that like sales. Most people get into the sales profession by default, i.e., “I’ll do this until I find a real job.” Salespeople that excel in the profession of sales regard it as a profession, not just a temporary stop-gap measure…’
I could go on, but though this covered some important ground. As always, happy to help with any questions and would appreciate it if you would share this with your network if you found it helpful.