Extra, Extra, Dinosaur Sales Professionals Saved From the Edge Extinction
Extra, Extra, Dinosaur Sales Professionals Saved From the Edge Extinction
Many involved in selling know at least one of these old timers who were the Schmoozers. The inside staff would sit in utter amazement shaking their heads in disbelief as these selling professionals brought in order after order with little to no knowledge compared to the inside sales, customer service or technical staff. As sales became more technical and information focused, many predicted and I believed hoped for the ultimate extinction of this type of sales professional.
Then because of the global economy expansion, the influx of MBAs (degreed individuals) and the impact of technology, fresh new species of selling personnel hit the roads armed with their PDAs, laptops and a wealth of technical information. These new folks could tell you how their widgets were designed, manufactured, work in any standard application and let us not forget with a tremendous savings in salaries.
The sales skills of this new species remind me of a short story about one of these MBA types who was traveling down a back country road and came across a sheep herder with a flock of sheep. He scrambled out of his unmarked black SUV; hurried up the herder and interrupted him by stating that he could determine the number of sheep in the flock for the price of one sheep.
The herder smiled and agreed. The MBA whips out his PDA with a global positioning unit, does a myriad of calculations and announces you have 497 sheep in your flock. With a nod, the herder confirmed the count and the MBA took a sheep.
Then the Herder tells the young man, "I can tell you what company you represent." With a quick look around at his clothes, his car and his personal items to confirm a lack of signage, the MBA says 'OK, tell me.' You are from (fill in the blank with the company of your choosing) because you came uninvited, told me something I already knew and you took my darn dog.
Now with the global economy in contraction, companies are seeking long term relationships with their vendors and the new species as previously described are truly not needed and are viewed in many cases as a nuisance. Today’s companies are seeking solution providers who truly understand their businesses instead of the existing sales professionals who can only identify problems and stand at arms length away from their customers.
This sudden shift in the marketplace has saved the old sales dinosaurs from the edge of extinction. Even with limited marketing (entertainment) budgets, these experienced old timers are showing how by developing strong relationships over time can dramatically increase sales.
If you want to increase sales, find a mentor who understands relationship selling as well as having some product knowledge. Remember, no one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. Stop being the MBA in the black SUV and become the trusted advisor who is helping herd the sheep and can tell the difference between a sheep and a dog. P.S. He or she is truly not a dinosaur and really never was one.
Extra Extra Dinosaur Sales Professionals Saved From the Edge Extinction - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
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Remember, those professional sales persons of years gone by? They wined and dined their potential qualified customers (a.k.a. prospects) with no to somewhat limited knowledge of their products and services. Commitments happened with a shake of the hand. These folks were considered to be Dinosaurs or the Old Way to Sell.
Many involved in selling know at least one of these old timers who were the Schmoozers. The inside staff would sit in utter amazement shaking their heads in disbelief as these selling professionals brought in order after order with little to no knowledge compared to the inside sales, customer service or technical staff. As sales became more technical and information focused, many predicted and I believed hoped for the ultimate extinction of this type of sales professional.
Then because of the global economy expansion, the influx of MBAs (degreed individuals) and the impact of technology, fresh new species of selling personnel hit the roads armed with their PDAs, laptops and a wealth of technical information. These new folks could tell you how their widgets were designed, manufactured, work in any standard application and let us not forget with a tremendous savings in salaries.
The sales skills of this new species remind me of a short story about one of these MBA types who was traveling down a back country road and came across a sheep herder with a flock of sheep. He scrambled out of his unmarked black SUV; hurried up the herder and interrupted him by stating that he could determine the number of sheep in the flock for the price of one sheep.
The herder smiled and agreed. The MBA whips out his PDA with a global positioning unit, does a myriad of calculations and announces you have 497 sheep in your flock. With a nod, the herder confirmed the count and the MBA took a sheep.
Then the Herder tells the young man, "I can tell you what company you represent." With a quick look around at his clothes, his car and his personal items to confirm a lack of signage, the MBA says 'OK, tell me.' You are from (fill in the blank with the company of your choosing) because you came uninvited, told me something I already knew and you took my darn dog.
Now with the global economy in contraction, companies are seeking long term relationships with their vendors and the new species as previously described are truly not needed and are viewed in many cases as a nuisance. Today’s companies are seeking solution providers who truly understand their businesses instead of the existing sales professionals who can only identify problems and stand at arms length away from their customers.
This sudden shift in the marketplace has saved the old sales dinosaurs from the edge of extinction. Even with limited marketing (entertainment) budgets, these experienced old timers are showing how by developing strong relationships over time can dramatically increase sales.
If you want to increase sales, find a mentor who understands relationship selling as well as having some product knowledge. Remember, no one cares how much you know, until they know how much you care. Stop being the MBA in the black SUV and become the trusted advisor who is helping herd the sheep and can tell the difference between a sheep and a dog. P.S. He or she is truly not a dinosaur and really never was one.
Extra Extra Dinosaur Sales Professionals Saved From the Edge Extinction - To learn more about this author, visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website.
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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