The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

This week, one of our clients was talking about how she returns to the same car dealership every three years, like clockwork, and orders another upgraded version of the car she loves to drive. 

A co-worker turned toward her and said, “You’re not just a customer.  You’re an annuity.”

The statement was worth a chuckle, but it really got me thinking. The moment you begin to assume that a Key Account’s spending will always be there—when you start to take it for granted—that’s when the relationship is most at risk.

Long-term relationships can lead to mistakes. For example, you might think, “I’m going to be a few minutes late… but (Bob) will understand, because he knows how I operate.”

I recently sat in on a sales presentation where the person doing the pitch spent all of their time looking… wrong. They were looking at their paperwork and, in a sense, reading aloud to the prospect.

My wife and I recently bought a lawn tractor from a major big box retail store. It should have been a fun, easy experience, but it turned into a headache. The salesperson who was trying to help us with our purchase was repeatedly interrupted by other store personnel who had a wide variety of problems or questions. At times, other coworkers would interrupt just because they needed to use the young lady’s computer terminal. (Apparently, we were invisible customers or our near-$2,000 purchase was not as important as the other person’s issue.)

Okay, it was worth a chuckle. Indeed, it was worth the effort to pull my cell phone out and take a picture of the sign, indicating a wading pool depth of one and a half feet.  And then it added, “No Diving.”

Frankly, it’s the same in sales as it is in any other creative, human endeavor. The biggest mistake you can make is no mistake at all. Don’t assume those people who make no mistakes in their b2b sales careers are the ones who are most polished and professional. They could be the ones who don’t push their boundaries of capability.

Before the real needs analysis work, do some pre-meeting research... Presearch. Yes, it still happens. 

There are still account managers who open a Client Needs Analysis with, “So, how many years have you been in business?”  Or, “How many locations do you have?”  Or, “Do you have a website?”

These kinds of CNA questions don’t ask; they tell.  They tell the client, “This person has not done one stitch of research before asking me to give up this hour.”  Or, “This salesperson is lazy.”  Or, “This individual does not value my business very much if they couldn’t do a little homework in advance.”

It has become almost cliché among professionals who are no longer content with their level of success or income:  “I’m ready to take things to the next level.”