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Four facts all sales reps should always keep in mind

Written by: Todd Youngblood

Article Overview: We are all conditioned to always remembering that the customer is always right. That's a good thing in general, but do we take it too far?

Four facts all sales reps should always keep in mind

Like most bits of wisdom that stand the test of time, "the customer is always right" applies most of the time. Most - not all - of the time. That mind set can easily blind us to four critical facts.

1) Customer personnel do not have the time and/or wherewithal to address all of their known significant problems and opportunities.

Have you ever heard of a decision-maker that complained about having too much time at his or her disposal? That there just wasn't enough to do to fill the hours of the working day? You almost certainly have heard something along the lines of, "my people have the best knowledge and skills in the business," though. Even if that's true, which I doubt, it is virtually impossible for anybody to keep up with the incredibly fast advances of the modern business world. My point is, every customer always needs every bit of time savings and/or knowledge you, your company, your products and your services can provide.

2) Customers have unknown problems and opportunities.

I don't care how smart they are, all customers are oblivious to something. And they know it too. Anyone who truly believes their area of responsibility is totally under control and immune to circumstances lurking in the background or just around the corner, is either the most arrogant human in history or insane. My point is, every customer always needs every bit of relevant insight and perspective you, your company, your products and your services can provide.

3) Customer decision processes are not robust enough to deal with the complexity of their problems and opportunities.

The best business process in the world continuously becomes less able to deal with the changes thrown at it. Every day, it becomes just a bit more obsolete. That's the best business process in the world. How many customers can even tell you what their decision process is? How many businesses have ever even thought through what their decision process should be? My point is, every customer always needs your spin on what to consider when evaluating the types of products and services you provide.

4) Few individuals consider their entire business when making a decision.

The functional "silo" has become a cliché for reason. It's true! Most people don't know about, much less care about or consider, people and processes outside of their direct responsibility. (Can you believe there's an actual purchasing agent I know of who cares only about price? Who refuses to consider quality, durability, warranty, integration, service or support? I know, shocking!) The CEO, however, does consider and worries endlessly about how all the pieces of his or her organization integrate with one another as well as with pieces of supplier and customer organizations. You don't get to be a CEO unless you're really, really good at perceiving, understanding and managing all those connections over long time horizons. My point is, every customer always needs your ability and insight into how your products and services integrate with and help harmonize those connections. In fact, the better you get at "orchestrating" business processes, the more time you'll be "forced" to spend meeting with top customer executives.

Notice how these four facts have little to do with your products and services. They have little to do with traditional sales skills. They have far more to do with your knowledge and skill as a creative business executive. Success in selling depends upon your prospects' realization of how you can save them time; provide some of the knowledge and skills required to solve their problems and address their opportunities; point out the hidden problems and opportunities; constantly improve their decision process; and help them think big, broadly and long term. The customer is not always right. They know it. And they will embrace the sales rep who helps them get better with these four aspects of running a business.

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Article Tags: bits of wisdom, business world, circumstances, complexity, critical facts, customer decision, decision maker, decision processes, i don t care, nbsp, perspective, relevant insight, span style, style text, test of time, text decoration, time savings



Related Forum Posts
Dealing with Sales Reps - I've dealt with a wide variety of sales reps over the years and the vast majority take time to get back in touch. Its not usually a situation that a retailer calls for some information and they get an answer that day. In addition, most of the sales reps I had also deal with a couple of hundred other accounts. That's a lot of people to kep straight and to answer all their questions in a timely manner. This was really an issue in roofing because we were usually offering the newest products and at that point the rep had limited info, little or no sales material and usually no samples. This made the rep look bad and we had to explain to the homeowner that we were working to get what they needed, but there were about 5-8 links in the chain of information that all had to do their job. In these cases, I was being truthful when I told the customer or client that I was working on it and the sales rep was working on it. It just takes time to make things happen - usually longer than the consumer wants to realize or understand. Shri
Re: We all embellish, so are we all liars? - [quote="BuzzAroundBooks":3chumhxz]For instance, what if a customer asks you where a specific sales representative is but you don't know where he/she is? Retail expert Doug Fleener says "Rather than appearing not to know what's going on, it's safer to go with the standard reply: 'Dan's (i.e. sales reps' name) not available right now. My name is... May I help you?'" ("The Profitable Retailer" 216).[/quote:3chumhxz] Hi Kevin There have been a couple of businesses in my local area who have done this only to become unstuck when we found out that Dan (or who ever we were after) had not worked there for months and the business (a one man band) was only trying to cover it up to appear larger than it was in reality. My honest opinion was that the business went through a few employees quitting and they didn't want us to think they were an unstable company.
Re: Hello - Sorry, I missed the first part. How I started was quite simple. I was unhappy where I worked as a sales manager. One of my more apt sales reps met with the owner of the company on the side. After a few vodka's he was promoted to my position and I was demoted as he convinced him that I was "unorganized and too young". Seeing my huge contact list and the several millions of dollars in contracts that was incoming for me in commission, he drafted a story that I was working on the side for a competitor. I was fired and he slipped in and collected my commissions. I used to have a hard time with this. It's really a testament to say that even though an event at the time can seem tragic and devastating, sometimes it's the best thing that could ever happen to you. I wanted to have my own business and with the severance, I took it and started. I wouldn't have it any other way. It was the best thing that could have happened to me.
Lessons learned - I have been enjoying the show myself and agree that there are lessons to be learned. In addition to what you said, I picked up the importance of being upfront with information and facts. One entrepreneur who was selling a herbal spray product when asked what her annual sales were responded by saying under a million. When questioned further, she said $500,000. She lost credibility, trust and the deal.
Re: Blog sells for up to $15 million - We need to brainstorm some possible ideas and a high visibility business niche to focus on. Something that allows us to access real, relative information and facts that we can then post to the blog to inform and enlighten the readers. Nothing commercial in the posts. No marketing or selling or promoting this or that. Just hard facts and information relative to the niche. Information that will help or inspire readers interested in that niche. GT :-]


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