|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |  |
|
Are The Majority Of B2B Salespeople Allergic to Paperwork Even Though It Means They Are Missing Out On A Competitive Advantage?
Written by: Michael SchellArticle Overview: If you are a salesperson looking to differentiate your approach, a meeting agenda prepared in advance and sent by e-mail will help you do just that. Since most of your competitors are likely allergic to such paperwork, you'll have a distinct competitive advantage. Curious? See what the decision-makers have to say.
 |
Free Download - Hiring Experts Share Winning Advice on Conducting Effective Job Interviews to Hire Excellent Employees By Michael Schell |
Are The Majority Of B2B Salespeople Allergic to Paperwork Even Though It Means They Are Missing Out On A Competitive Advantage?
After interviewing hundreds of corporate
decision-makers for my books, Buyer Approved Selling and Winning Sales
Advice, I would have to say the answer is a resounding yes!
Why?
Because the decision makers interviewed made it clear: Most sales people don't use basic sales practices that involve writing! A good example would be the Meeting Agenda. Do you ever meet with salespeople? If so, when's the last time a salesperson provided you with a written agenda before a meeting?
The research revealed that meeting agendas are rarely used by salespeople. In fact, decision-makers from name brand companies like DaimlerChrysler and U.S. Bank reported that less than 10% of salespeople who met with them took the time to prepare a written agenda. Consider the following comment by Ted Biggs as published in the book, Winning Sales Advice: Sales Secrets from the Decision-Maker's Side of the Desk:
"I wish salespeople would use an agenda when they meet with me, but I can't recall it ever happening!"
- Ted W. Biggs, Senior Vice President and Western Region Sales Manager, U.S. Bank (Rates this approach a 10 out of 10; NEVER sees it used by salespeople.)
Just for fun, let's examine some key benefits that accrue to the salespeople who actually prepare meeting agendas:
* Since hardly any salespeople use written agendas, it differentiates their approach
* It positions them as proactive, professional and organized
* It allows the meeting to focus on predefined objectives
* It identifies any information or items the prospect needs to prepare ahead of time
* It allows the salesperson to prioritize agenda items in order of importance
* And of course the list goes on...
So why don't most sales people prepare agendas before sales meetings even though it will help them be more successful?
Because they're allergic to paperwork... what else could it be?
Related ArticlesWhy?
Because the decision makers interviewed made it clear: Most sales people don't use basic sales practices that involve writing! A good example would be the Meeting Agenda. Do you ever meet with salespeople? If so, when's the last time a salesperson provided you with a written agenda before a meeting?
The research revealed that meeting agendas are rarely used by salespeople. In fact, decision-makers from name brand companies like DaimlerChrysler and U.S. Bank reported that less than 10% of salespeople who met with them took the time to prepare a written agenda. Consider the following comment by Ted Biggs as published in the book, Winning Sales Advice: Sales Secrets from the Decision-Maker's Side of the Desk:
"I wish salespeople would use an agenda when they meet with me, but I can't recall it ever happening!"
- Ted W. Biggs, Senior Vice President and Western Region Sales Manager, U.S. Bank (Rates this approach a 10 out of 10; NEVER sees it used by salespeople.)
Just for fun, let's examine some key benefits that accrue to the salespeople who actually prepare meeting agendas:
* Since hardly any salespeople use written agendas, it differentiates their approach
* It positions them as proactive, professional and organized
* It allows the meeting to focus on predefined objectives
* It identifies any information or items the prospect needs to prepare ahead of time
* It allows the salesperson to prioritize agenda items in order of importance
* And of course the list goes on...
So why don't most sales people prepare agendas before sales meetings even though it will help them be more successful?
Because they're allergic to paperwork... what else could it be?
Competitive Advantage vs. Your Business Model
A Missing Link to Sales Improvement?
The Importance Of Simplicity In Sales and Management
Bookkeeping and Good record keeping
IN YOUR FACE—FOR BIG RESULTS
Home
> Sales
> Michael Schell
> Are The Majority Of B2B Salespeople Allergic to Paperwork Even Though It Means They Are Missing Out On A Competitive Advantage
Article Tags:
b2b sales,
sales jobs,
sales manager,
sales tips,
salespeople
|
About the Author: Michael Schell RSS for Michael's articles - Visit Michael's website  Click here to visit Michael's website   How to Annoy Decision Makers 3 Winning Sales Approaches |
Related Forum Posts
Re: Affiliate Marketing - Open for Discussion
- This is a good topic. Affiliate marketing stands to be the epitome of all business. I think there is not business online or offline that is not thriving on the affiliation.
Majority of things we buy or like to buy are direct effort of affiliation. Some of the things you and I bought was done because a friend or neighbour refer us to it. I like affiliate marketing so much because it grows business easily.
Every entrepreneur needs affiliate marketing to thrive. What I don't like about affiliate marketing is when the company is not paying well their affiliates.
What a good topic.
Product promotion strategy
- I do not know whether domestic users are end-terminal user or not. We started the business by selling the product in local markets and the feedbacks was awesome. A lot of customers keep coming back for more and always refer another customers to try our products.
Majority of our sales still come from domestic users. we have some commercial customers that sometimes refer other shopowners (mainly fish n chips shop or restaurant)to try our products; the feedback was great, that’s why my boss is very aggressive at the moment.
Do you think cold calling is better at this stage to open our market to industrial and commercial users as well as resellers? or jus knock on their door or doing the traditional promotion?
Global Ad Agency Seeks Senior Sales Account Executive
- Global Ad Agency -- We are seeking experienced advertising Senior Sales Account Executives to join our growing sales force in New York office.
ICMediaDirect.com, Inc is a Full Service Online Advertising Agency driven by a united goal to provide both online as well as offline advertisers with easy and affordable ways to plan and buy media online. We are proud to present an impressive roster of over 300 satisfied clients and a wide reach of billions of visitors each month. With two great locations - N.Y. and D.C. - we know how to PLAN your media, how to BUY your media, how to TRACK your media and how to CAPITALIZE your media.
Qualifications
• Minimum 2 years of active ONLINE advertising sales experience
• Responsible and aggressive attitude
• Successful track record with ONLINE sales
• Understanding Internet advertising vehicles such as pops, banners, search and lead generation is required
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Strong computer skills are required
• Detail oriented and well-organized
• Ability to work independently
• Enthusiastic team player
The Best office location in the city! Competitive salary (plus commission), bonuses and benefits.
Please send your resume with salary expectations today at jobs@icmediadirect.com!
Re: Global Ad Agency Seeks Senior Sales Account Executive
- [quote="RobertGresch":1lt645d1]Global Ad Agency -- We are seeking experienced advertising Senior Sales Account Executives to join our growing sales force in New York office.
ICMediaDirect.com, Inc is a Full Service Online Advertising Agency driven by a united goal to provide both online as well as offline advertisers with easy and affordable ways to plan and buy media online. We are proud to present an impressive roster of over 300 satisfied clients and a wide reach of billions of visitors each month. With two great locations - N.Y. and D.C. - we know how to PLAN your media, how to BUY your media, how to TRACK your media and how to CAPITALIZE your media.
Qualifications
• Minimum 2 years of active ONLINE advertising sales experience
• Responsible and aggressive attitude
• Successful track record with ONLINE sales
• Understanding Internet advertising vehicles such as pops, banners, search and lead generation is required
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Strong computer skills are required
• Detail oriented and well-organized
• Ability to work independently
• Enthusiastic team player
The Best office location in the city! Competitive salary (plus commission), bonuses and benefits.
Please send your resume with salary expectations today at jobs@icmediadirect.com![/quote:1lt645d1]
Hi Robert,
Welcome to our forums! Have you had any luck in your search for this job candidate and can I ask what other sites you've used to advertise this position?
SES Toronto Day 2
- Well I’m off to Day 2 of Search Engine Strategies 2008. Here is what I have planned to attend today:
10:30am-11:45am - Search User Behavior
How do searchers interact with search engines? New research is constantly revealing how searchers act. This session explores the latest studies and findings to provide tips and tactics for search marketers to consider.
12:45pm-2:00pm - SEM Toolkit: Marketers Share
Competitive intelligence, keyword research, customer profiling, exotic analytics, and visual mouse tracking are just some of the tricks of the trade of search marketers. Guerrilla marketers on the panel show you the favorite tools in their kits. Many are low cost or free.
2:30pm-3:45pm - Web 2.0 & Search Engines
An overused and amorphous term, “Web 2.0? nonetheless encompasses an evolutionary shift from the typical web user experience of a decade ago. Some aspects of the “new” web environment are great for improving your search traffic. Other developments may lead you to make serious SEO errors. Among other things, Web 2.0 is about new user interface designs that speed up user actions with techniques such as AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript and XML), which allow users to perform operations nimbly without loading a new HTML page. This session will cover AJAX, CSS, user-generated content, and other new trends in web design and user experiences that may require a re-think of your SEO strategy.
4:00pm-5:15pm - Site Clinic
This interactive session takes volunteers from the audience and examines their websites live to provide general feedback about improving them to gain more traffic from search engines.
As usual I’ll report my findings after the day is through!
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.
Featured Article
How to Get a Highly Competitive Sales Force to Collaborate
by: Dianne Crampton, Successful Team Building
by: Dianne Crampton, Successful Team BuildingTrending Articles
Lesson #3: “Tell ‘em quick and tell ‘em often”
Searching for the Stars: How Yang and Filo Took Their Business to New Heights
Salesperson Wimp-Out: I Need Help 
February 2012 Top 100 Leadership Experts to Follow on Twitter
Please Stop Calling it Coaching!
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!
Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Popular Articles
Time management for DIY PR
Are You Listening?
Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry
Time management for DIY PR
Are You Listening?
Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry
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.
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.