Tweet

Forget Your Title

Written by: Andy Marken

Article Overview: …Focus on the Job “If you aren’t selling, you’re buying” – F.G. “Buck” Rogers, former head of IBM Marketing, Sales activities

Forget Your Title

Somewhere along the line we got sidetracked into believing we had to focus on our profession. We forgot what people in companies – engineers, scientists, accountants, product managers, vice presidents, communications, lawyers, technical/customer support personnel and yes presidents -- were supposed to do. We got so wrapped up in our own status in the organization, our own feeling of self-importance, our title; we forgot what our real job was.

The job? Selling products and services and making a profit.

You don’t?

Congratulations!

That means:
1. When a customer problem or question comes to you, you try to answer it. And you go directly to the people who can provide the answer to ensure they customer gets assistance and a satisfactory answer
2. When a phone call or email – internal or external -- comes in you return the call or respond within an hour if at all possible. Or you ensure someone handles the query if you are on the road. You leave no query unanswered before you leave the office at the end of the day
3. You spend at least 10-15% of your time with your field sales force calling on customers and/or prospects to find out why they purchased – or didn’t -- your firms products/services and what they like/dislike
4. You visit outlets and stores that sell your products/services to see how your promotional materials and the products, as well as your competitor’s are presented
5. You talk about your projects, programs, activities with senior management and staff in terms of market response/reaction, impact and sales
6. You time your product announcements and roll-outs so they coincide when the product/service will actually be available -- in a solid form – for sale
7. You spend time trying to determine what the customer wants, needs and not what you think you want to design, produce and ship

Those things aren’t your area of responsibility or your concern?

Wrong!

Selling…being responsible…being responsive is your total job.

A recent report we read on ecustomer relations made us realize we are losing touch with our real job. It is little wonder that customers – business and consumer – dislike the buying process so much. It made us realize that the companies that are just a little bit better focused on the selling (and support) process produce better results and often it doesn’t take that much to be that much better.

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s Buck Rogers of IBM was the epitome of the salesman’s salesman. His consistent uniform -- dark blue suit, white shirt, rep tie and red pocketchief – may seem a little dated but the fundamentals he preached and practiced are as sound today as they were then.

In his mind everyone in the organization was a sales person. The janitor, the engineer, the lawyer, the PR person, the lab rat, the installation/service technician were all part of the IBM sales team.

The internet didn’t change that. The customer support department didn’t change that. The specialties didn’t change that.

Our feeling of the importance of specialization and departmentalization and compartmentalization changed that focused customer approach.

The eGain customer relations study polled 300 US, Canadian firms in various market sectors. Yes it included healthcare, retail, financial services, communications, PC and CE manufacturers, hospitality and services. Your firm could have been caught in this wide net. The inquiries to the firms (sent as emails) expressed a keen intent to buy one of their high-value products or services.

They found:
 41% of the firms never responded
 39% sent an answer within 24 hours
 15% sent an acknowledgement that they had received the inquiry
 17% responded with an accurate, complete answer
 6% didn’t have an email contact

Don’t shrug off the figures by saying well that is the sales department for you. Rewrap the inquiries in terms of the inquiries you receive. Do you think the results would have been any different?

Does your organizations list easy-to-find key company contact information on your web sites? Direct email addresses? 24-hour phone numbers?

Do you answer every inquiry even from suppliers, prospects or customers halfway around the globe and have nothing to do with your area of “responsibility?” Do you follow-up to make certain they are supported properly?

Do you treat emails like paper mail…handle it once, handle it immediately, take the appropriate action and move on?

Do you provide the information as quickly to a Massachusetts weekly as you do to the NY Times?

Do you view incoming email as talking to a person face to face? Respond promptly and courteously? Or do you simply ignore the individual?

If you answered no to most of these questions you are not doing your job. Your selling job.

But sales isn’t your job?

It’s your job at work and at home!
 Didn’t you take engineering and technical jargon and put it into words ordinary people could understand?
 Didn’t you advise your management what the ramifications might be of some policy or program you didn’t feel was in the best interest of the company’s reputation or future?
 Didn’t you explain the reasons for an aggressive product launch with your marketing and marketing communications department?
 Didn’t you help get your CEO on the show program as a key speaker?
 Didn’t you pitch and negotiate a better price and delivery schedule with a supplier?
 Didn’t you make a presentation to engineering (or marketing) on a new product or service you wanted to see added to your product offering?
 Didn’t you convince your spouse that buying a new HDTV was a wise move?
 Didn’t you discuss the reasons why camping in the mountains was much better than a simple visit to Disneyland?
 Didn’t you negotiate a date and vacation with that new person who caught your eye at the athletic club?

Rationalize all you want but if you are good in your chosen field or profession you’re selling all the time. You are selling your ideas…your words…your ability to look at problems and opportunities from every angle…your reputation.

If you’re uncomfortable with this then don’t call what you do selling. Instead tell people you persuade, influence and negotiate.

Then wrap it all with a superb title.

But understand the basics of solid sales efforts. That’s the way you can get others to adopt your point of view or idea, that you get they to respect/agree with your opinion and that they help you achieve what is best for your company, its products/services and the market at large.

Buck Rogers mantra is as true today as it was in the early ‘80s. Selling is cool. Selling is fun. Selling is good for your company’s long-term success and profitability. It’s as true for engineering, accounting, legal, product planning, marketing, accounting, manufacturing and public relations as it is for the sales department.

It may not be part of your job title or even in your job description but…“If you aren’t selling, you’re buying.”

Related Articles
  How To Use The Poll Component and Poll Module Within Your Joomla Content Management System
  How to link an article with a menu item into your Joomla website
  Why is my Website's page title important?
  Use Title Tags to Educate and Stimulate
  Title tag plays major role in SEO

Article Tags:



Related Forum Posts
Re: SEO... - 1: Find the Best Keywords 2: Discover Your Competitors 3: Optimize Your Title 4: Optimize Your META Tags 5: Use Headings 6: Use Title and ALT Attributes 7: Nomenclatures 8: Create a Site Map Page 9: Include a robots.txt File 10: Install a sitemap.xml for Google MySQL/Oracle:
Off to get married, Congrats - Hi Evan, I am married over 34 years. So go for the long haul. It's worth it every minute. I hope you will have a 24/7 time away from the Forum. Forget all about it and enjoy each other. Your Dream begins..... Regards Beat
Re: Why Some Websites Sell and Others Don’t? - Thanks for starting this inspirational thread,am working on owning my own site.This is a vital info for me. I will take note of this important quote as a beginner "Forget about the magic bullet that will make you rich overnight. Persistence is more important than intelligence"
Re: What would you be willing to do for a million dollars? - Forget a million dollars... I recall one of my marketing teachers telling me that everyone he knew in his MBA program had lost their relationships during the process. The time commitment required from a full-time job and studying for an MBA had put so much strain on those people's relationships/marriages that they just fell a part.
Re: Quote of the Day - "The only people witho - Thanks for sharing this Evan, there are some very powerful quotes in there, I particularly like this one:- You are now at a crossroads. This is your opportunity to make the most important decision you will ever make. Forget your past. Who are you now? Who have you decided you really are now? Don't think about who you have been. Who are you now? Who have you decided to become? Make this decision consciously. Make it carefully. Make it powerfully. regards, Mal.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Why We MUST Reinvent The Wheel

The Neglected Art of Receiving

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.