re: OFFICIAL: Sales Professionals Strategy and Discussion Thread

As someone who has been on both sides of the table in purchasing arrangements:

One of the key things that many salespeople overlook - if it's a severe pain in the arse to order things, get invoiced promptly and correctly, (and pay, believe it or not) and get shite delivered on time, I'll probably find someone else to buy from.... even if you're a hell of a guy, and your product is superior.

The guy who can quote quickly and reliably, deliver on time (and/or communicate changes proactively), and send me an invoice/receipt ASAP is going to get the lion's share of my business. He's making my life easier. I need more guys like him.

If your company sucks at some (or all) of those things, you either need to take ownership of whatever is a nuisance and hand hold it through (even if it's "not your job"), or you'll just be churning customers instead of getting repeat business and referrals.

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Be an absolute expert on your products, your competitors, and your market. You spend a lot of time getting that meeting, so you should put even more time toward preparing for it. Do your homework and understand your customer before you meet them, then listen while you are there. They are busy and you are in the way, so you should be providing value of some sort at every interaction. Sort through the marketing BS that your company spews and find the truth for your customer so you can win or lose for the right reasons.

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This is the best post so far of this thread.

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This is the best post so far of this thread

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Agreed. Very good post. Precall planning is pretty underrated IMO. Also, listen twice as much as you speak especially when negotiating. You have to ask the right questions to understand the customer's need versus what he wants. If you can satisfy his need then you're likely not to give away as many concessions or you can solve his problem with your solution versus what he thinks he needs or wants.

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The Challenger Sale

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What are the highlights of this book? Just curious.

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- Executive don't buy from people, they buy from organizations. End users don't buy from organizations, they buy from people.

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I've seen this trip up even the most seasoned reps. They spend all of their time getting the win from the department-level end users (path of least resistance), feel good about the deal and forecast it. Meanwhile, the competition is in the carpeted hallways building a business case for the guys who cut the checks.

First time to revisit this thread. What I work in is very high-end communications electronics used in military, energy, robotics, armed UAVs, emergency management, etc... I work with end-users, specifiers, integrators, architects, consultants, solutions architects, RCDDs, security experts, the Justice Dept, FEMA, the NSA, and most other agencies. I work with different governments, multi-national enterprises, specialists in black ops, the Aegis destroyer program, F-35, F-22, F-16, CV-22 Osprey, Northrup Grumman, L3, Lockheed, Bell Helicopter, Textron, Boeing, Airbus, NASA, MIT, ATK and the list could go on and on.

The point is, what I do is not illegal. I do not give gifts to end-user clients to buy their business, but I do support the integrators and others who are influencers to the decision making process. I send birthday greetings, Starbucks cards, flowers, and more as I previously described. I look for charity events (including golf) that allows me to participate in a charity event and in return the charity benefits and my clients participate and add to the charity's overall success. I run spot contests, I attend meetings and ask questions and those who provide me a benefit and correct answer I throw them a prize, or send them a gift card.

The people I court and take care of and who will always look at my assistance and support as nothing more than exemplary and spot on accurate associate me with integrity and fun. I sponsored a fund raising party for an integrator that I knew a key end-user had a propensity for using to manage their communications designs. I didn't ask for anything in return. I did it in memory of an employee who died of a disease and made it an event to raise funds for a charity that tackles the problems of the disease. It has grown into an event that the company now handles on its own, but I started it. Think they give me a first look when a project comes up? You bet they do.

I had another company that I really wanted to have pushing my solution and I knew that two of the hard line members were divers. i scheduled the training for them in Atlanta, and scheduled a team building activity at the new Aquarium and I went diving with them at the Aquarium. Since then, they have taken me on multiple dives with them and they are a solid supporter of my company.

As I stated in my first post, selling is hard work. It takes time, planning and a commitment to make yourself indespensible as a resource and to become friends with everyone you can. Add on to that understanding your product, and its limitatations so that you don't ever overstate its capabilities, and you will be successful. As I mentioned also, when they buy YOU dinner, you know you have have done your job to the best you can.

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With that being said, you can tell on here what type of sales role people are and what their sales process is just by reading their comments on what they think a successfull sales role looks like.

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true, selling looks much different across the spectrum of commodity to complex products/solutions. Take product knowledge for example, most folks selling complex IT solutions aren't any where close to experts. They excel by managing the process.

Just a few of the tidbits I've learned and used through the years...

- never stop building trust

- the client is in charge of defining value, not the sales rep.

- understand the risks the client faces and you're that much closer to a deal. Budget constraints, time-frame, personal risk, ROI, etc. Focusing on this can allow you to change the competitive landscape. The client can get a gadget to fit the application anywhere.

- advantage can only be created through execution of strategy. Gone are the days of creating advantage through exclusivity, location, scale, time, knowledge, etc.

- always know where you stand, and always clarify the buying process with the client. You can't manage the process if you don't know it.

- and if you ever work for me, clearly understand ForeLSU's first law...You're not allowed to answer a question I ask with "He didn't say", the correct answer is "I didn't ask".