I think spending time in the field observing salespeople is something all B2B sales consultants or trainers should do occasionally. Consultants that live in the conference room die in the conference room—this secret to running a successful training and consulting firm is practiced by few in the industry.
Recently while observing a seller in action the client made this statement, “I’m spending more with Jane’s company since she took over my account.” I asked the customer why and here’s what he said, “The salesperson from Jane’s company that used to have my account only called me when he had something to sell—kind of like a relative or a friend that only gets in touch when they need to borrow money.”
I asked the customer to tell me more, and here’s what he said, “He was a pest and most of what he was trying to sell me had nothing to do with my business.”
This Struck a Nerve
Wow! This comment struck a nerve for many reasons:
- It flies in the face of the belief that constant “pitching and asking” for cash is what sales is all about
- It also flies in the face of the notion that keeping in touch with customers is an important part of sales
- Most B2B sales training programs focus on “pitching and asking” rather than the other important elements of sales
- Most sales managers push their sellers to “pitch” initiatives not tied to customer needs and often set quotas tied to the number of “pitches”
5 Quality Sales Related Activities Other Than Pitching
The best sellers understand that selling is about more than just “pitching.” There is no doubt that presenting a proposal and closing business is an important part of selling; however, other sales-related activities need to take place. Here are five:
- Needs analysis work. Charles F. Kettering’s quote, “A problem well stated is a problem-half solved” speaks volumes about the importance of understanding customer needs. Simply put, the first step to stating a problem is understanding it—and the first step to understanding customer problems is conducting a needs analysis.
- Research presentation. Taking the time to conduct and present research to a customer is often forgotten in today’s hurry up world of B2B sales. A key element to consider related to research is to tie the research to the customer not the product. Here are some customer based research areas
- Industry trends
- Consumer trends
- Competitive insights (be sure not to share confidential information)
- Brainstorming. Conducting a brainstorming session based on a customer need is a great way to deliver value to a customer, not to mention that it develops ideas to include in the next proposal.
- Post sale ROI follow-up session. Simply asking the customer about the success or failure of the previous proposal goes a long way to communicate caring. Too many sellers skip this step as they jump to their next “pitch.”
- “Thanks for the business” lunch or dinner. Client entertainment is a dying sales activity. This is a sad reality of the bottom line times in which we live. Spending a few bucks to say thanks—especially to KEY accounts—helps build relationships. One note to remember: avoid turning a “thank you” dinner or lunch into a sales pitch.
It is important to note that the likelihood of “closing” a deal increases when these sales related activities occur on a regular basis! Additionally, offering to do some of the things on this list—see research and brainstorming—demonstrates value even if a customer does not accept the offer.
