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Make Time for Sales`

Written by: Carol Blaha

Article Overview: The SBA states that 90% of all businesses fail in their first 5 years. They can blame it on location, credit, competitors, economy-- but the real reason is not enough business. Business owners wear many hats and can easily make excuses for being busy. But they must focus on that top line, or little will make it to the bottom.

Make Time for Sales`

I subscribe to many ezines and I reviewed one from the Huthwaite group that claimed an interesting statistic:

88% of companies expect their people to prospect for new business.

Only 3% of all salespeople believe that it’s a productive exercise.

Is there any wonder small businesses have such a high rate of failure?

When you interview a sales person you undoubtedly made clear prospecting was an expectation. The candidate agreed, even volunteering a success story, convincing the interviewer they were on board.

However, when the standards of the job do not match an employee’s performance, a discrepancy exists. A manager should find the reason that discrepancy exists and decide if it is a problem worth fixing.

It reminded me of an earlier position where I was hired just to cold call and generate leads. Follow up was supposed to happen by a field salesperson but it didn’t. Customers began calling asking why no one followed up—they were interested!! The salespeople made excuses saying they had too much to do already. I did my job well—too well, our contract was terminated because they couldn’t (wouldn’t) follow up on all the leads generated. The manager chose this over holding his field salespeople accountable to do their job.

Why isn’t it a problem worth fixing?

Businesses do not fail because they do not have great products or services, they fail because of execution. The US Department of Commerce states that American industry has no problem with production - its main problem is distribution. Quality salespeople are the key to distribution.

Where is the break down?

Basic training textbooks state that one reason people resist learning/changing is because they don’t feel they can do it—so they do something else. Expectancy has the most influence on our behavior and self doubt is a nasty gremlin. We don’t waste our time doing things we don’t believe we can do. Goal setting and good daily actions will link you to demonstrating that the right outcomes are consistently achieved. And you must be clear of their connection to building that sales funnel. Inspect what you expect.

Fulfillment and empowerment are interesting buzz words today relating to the work environment. I did a quick search on Amazon and found titles as “Making Life Count”, “Take this Job and Love It”, “Pursuit of Passionate Purpose”. All could be great reads. We design inspiring purposes, and I wonder if it is to motivate us or to convince ourselves.

A famous MLM has a marketer quoted as saying she’s not selling cosmetics, but “making women beautiful”. Or “helping women achieve their dreams”. And so they are. That isn’t my point.

When you are working to your potential you are doing the right things. You aren’t fulfilled when you aren’t feeling productive, solving problems, and making it happen. You won’t be productive feeling the anxiety of procrastination. Stress comes from inertia. Its sister is dread. You live your life in dread and you aren’t fulfilled. You don’t know why but you’re sure it’s someone else’s fault. You can be very busy, but in sales—it’s all about the numbers—and you know it. It’s the only reason we are here. We were hired to do a job, and for that we expect to be paid well for it. We can’t settle for just getting by. Sooner or later your employer won’t. They may fire you, they may have to shut the doors. Either way you are out of a job, while ranting a litany of excuses about other people, the economy, the factory, labor or the product.

Management does not skid free. Attitude of the employee is often directly linked to the organization. Negative employee attitudes can indicate the salesperson questions the wisdom, sincerity or leadership of the organization. Punishment rarely motivates. It doesn’t motivate people to do things, only not to do things. The punisher is someone to be avoided. That is why your staff fakes an occasional call report. It’s rarely motivating to return with punishment more severe than the behaviors reinforcing properties. If an employee leaves or is someone you must terminate—a manager should access their role. Your goal is to have successful employees. And you have failed.

Trust me, if you don’t believe in your product and your company you should either get connected or leave. Peel the onion deeper than just saying “it doesn’t feel right”. Have an internal dialog about whether your complaints are reasons or simply excuses.

Sometimes an undesired behavior is rewarding—such as the joy of (temporarily) avoiding the negative. They don’t want to face the music and do the unpleasant. Good simple daily actions close the what is/should be gap. You know you should set aside the time to prospect, to follow up, to network.

I suggest doing what you “dread” the most first in the day. People resist this immediately. Just the definition of the word is dreadful.

Dread:
1 : to fear greatly 2 : to feel extreme reluctance to meet or face
intransitive senses : to be apprehensive or fearful

If you let the necessary things slide, you rehash them over and over in your mind and hold back from meaningful work. Maybe you’ll justify one reason after another to put off those calls until tomorrow, or next week. I hear many reasons for putting off those calls. I rarely meet a person who after making them doesn’t wonder why they fussed so much. They got that dread monkey off their back and replaced it with satisfaction.

Everyone agrees that being with a potential buyer is one of their best uses of your time. The discussion becomes over which is the best way to find a potential buyer? If you can get all your prospects streaming in the door, then you are probably not interested in this article. For the rest of us, there is real work to be done.

The main reason training alone does not work is because of resistance to change and failure to putt the action into the plan. Coaching with training adds accountability and gives you no place to hide. Of course you can always quit the class or fire the coach!! I prefer you choose to get used to stepping out of your comfort zone and enjoy the fulfillment it brings.

In the meantime, here is a list of the top reasons not to make that call.

Everyone is heading for vacation.
Its early, I’ll disturb the prospects coffee.
Its early, the prospect is returning “real” emails.
It’s too late in the day.
It’s too close to lunch.
It’s too close to closing.
They have a sign up prohibiting it.
I don’t have an appointment.
He/she doesn’t know me, my product.
It snowed and everyone is stressed about the traffic.
Its spring and everyone has spring fever.
Its summer and everyone is heading for vacation.
There is a big game tomorrow and everyone is taking a long weekend.
Their big trade show is coming up and everyone is focused on that.
They won’t return my call anyway.
They probably like their current supplier.
I’ll just get voice mail.
Does it really matter?
No one will know if I don’t make this one little call.
I’m tired today; I probably won’t sound my best so I shouldn’t call.
I need to research something a bit more.
I need to ask tech services before I call.
I think another person is working on this call.
I think they just purchased new.

Homework: Add to the list, email me your best. Then copy the compiled list and mail to your competitors—while you go out and make some calls!

Related Articles
  Why Follow a Sales Process?
  The simple truth to increasing sales; follow up, follow up, follow up!
  Sales Manager Excuse: Dreading a Sales Meeting
  Empower Your Sales People By Providing Them With Positive Behavioral Feedback
  It Is All About the Buyer

Article Tags: break down, cold call, department of commerce, discrepancy, execution, expectation, ezines, field salespeople, goal setting, gremlin, interviewer, new business, sales person, salesperson, self doubt, small businesses, statistic, success story, textbooks, us department of commerce



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