Tweet

Shooting Fish in a Barrel

Written by: Bob Janet

Article Overview: “How many salespeople are sitting around waiting for someone to call? How many are still hawking the same old products with the same old lines? How many are looking to the same, rather than developing new customers? How many believe they don’t need sales training?”

Shooting Fish in a Barrel

My friend Bill Tucker, President of the Florida Building Material Association, recently wrote in his associations publication (e-BLUEPRINT):
“The members of one of our business round tables were discussing how to increase sales, when one of them commented on the need for training. Without thinking, I quickly reminded him that during the construction boom, few members attended the numerous sales courses offered by FBMA. That’s the way it is; when shooting fish in a barrel, you don’t need to learn how to aim.”

“How many salespeople are sitting around waiting for someone to call? How many are still hawking the same old products with the same old lines? How many are looking to the same, rather than developing new customers? How many believe they don’t need sales training?”

Whenever I am asked, “When do sales professionals no longer need sales training?”
I reply, “When they quit breathing!”

Because no matter how good you were at selling and marketing yesterday or how good your are today, there will always be competitors and economic changes that come along that you must ‘react to’ to stay where you are in your success. Those who are prepared do not ‘react to’ changing times and conditions, they ‘ACT’ before the changes adversely affect them.

It is human nature, and sales professionals are no different, to take the easy way out. To become lackadaisical. When times are good we do not have to have as sharp an aim when shooting fish in a barrel. We do not have to be sharp when the customers are calling and all we have to do is fill out the order forms.

But for many industries that time is over, at least for the foreseeable future. Sales professionals need to sharpen their old skills and yes, learn a few new ones to sharpen their aim to stay at the top of their profession. For some, as you see them falling by the wayside, it is already too late. For most it is not.

It is not too late if they make the commitment to rededicate themselves, and rededicate their business to the art of selling and marketing. Start refreshing, learning / re-learning selling and marketing skills and techniques and you will become the sales professional and business that is able to ‘ACT’ not ‘react’ to the changes in your market.

I once heard that the great football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant when asked how he turned a losing football team into a winner replied, “I thought to myself, someone has got to do something about our poor performance. Then I remembered - I was someone.”

If you are ‘the someone’ in your organization, the someone who needs to and can do something about it, it is time to:
• Become more aggressive in marketing and selling
a. Create and use a sales marketing plan
b. Determine who your best prospects are
c. Learn and use selling skills and techniques that attract customers to you

• Dare to be different than the competition
The business that gets noticed and is remembered will be the successful seller

• Dare to market and sell differently than you did when you could shoot fish in a barrel

It is time to learn (re-learn) the selling and marketing skills and techniques it takes to gain and retain your most profitable customers. We are no longer shooting fish in a barrel.

Related Articles
  Dont Teach A Man to Fish
  Lone Rangers Are Rarely Happy People
  What do Fishing & Selling have in Common?
  The Galapagos Post Office
  When Offers for Career Help Don’t Pan Out

Article Tags: aim, bill tucker, blueprint, building material, construction boom, economic changes, falling by the wayside, fbma, friend bill, future sales, human nature, profession, reply, sales professionals, salespeople, shooting fish in a barrel



Related Forum Posts
Re: Playing sports or games with clients - I say, "Give it all you have!" If you win you'll get to see his/her true character in how he/she handles it. You can learn a lot about a person from how they react to situations. If this caused friction in your work environment, then you probably weren't really enjoying working there anyway and life is too short to work at a JOB. I know it's easy for me to say I'd quit if I was uncomfortable with my boss. Sometimes it's much easier said than done in reality. You just have to strive to be happy whatever you do. Read the books, Fish and Fish, too..... or Fish, Two. Can't remember the exact name, but they are great books.
Re: Keep your image or avatar distorted for more click-throughs - [quote="Kevin":1rxz4jk2]Keep your images or avatars distorted on your social networking site or forum for more click-throughs? Apparently this strategy actually works. In Jan/Feb 2009's issue of "Inc." magazine, writer Max Chafkin says "Fixing the wonky images, for instance (on PlentyOfFish.com), might actually hurt Plenty of Fish. Right now, users are compelled to click on people's profiles in order to get to the next screen and view proper headshots. That causes people to view more profiles and allows Frind, who gets paid by the page view, to serve more ads" (pg 68).[/quote:1rxz4jk2] I don't think what Plenty of Fish is doing is good. People had been compelled to click which is what google will tell you not to do when you are applying for adsense for your website
Keep your image or avatar distorted for more click-throughs - Keep your images or avatars distorted on your social networking site or forum for more click-throughs? Apparently this strategy actually works. In Jan/Feb 2009's issue of "Inc." magazine, writer Max Chafkin says "Fixing the wonky images, for instance (on PlentyOfFish.com), might actually hurt Plenty of Fish. Right now, users are compelled to click on people's profiles in order to get to the next screen and view proper headshots. That causes people to view more profiles and allows Frind, who gets paid by the page view, to serve more ads" (pg 68).


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

Top 5 Tips for Better Online Ads

Leading with Discernment

How do you keep it together on a daily basis?

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.