The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Each year on the first Sunday in May, over 150,000 elementary and middle school kids set up lemonade stands in 31 states for Lemonade Day. The founder of the program, Michael Holthouse, who was named Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year, developed Lemonade Day to help kids learn how to run a business. He had this idea that economic messes could be avoided if kids were taught basic business skills and financial common sense that they can use when they are running the country.

My job includes constantly searching for industry and consumer trends, so I subscribe to a voluminous list of trade and news publications… more than I could possibly read thoroughly on any given day. However, I’ve taught myself to speed-scan the headlines rapidly, and separate the important stories that I need to know from the merely interesting stories that might be nice to know (if I had more time).

Chances are, you do precisely the same thing as you’re checking email, your Facebook page, or your Twitter feeds. At rapid-fire speed, you visually sift through hundreds of messages… “Junk, junk, junk, junk… Oh! This one looks like something I should read!”

I don’t raise this issue because I care about the way you prioritize the information you consume. I raise it so you’ll stop and think about the information you send.

When your client or prospect receives your message, logic tells us that it resides among hundreds—perhaps thousands—of other messages and issues that are screaming for that person’s attention.

Call the person in charge of selling, not buying! Sound crazy? Not if you’re developing new business. The problem with calling on the person in charge of buying when you’re trying to develop new business is their focus is on your product, how expensive you are, and other technical aspects of your delivery. People in charge of buying are trained to compare products and dismiss you, or to pit you against your competitors to get the lowest price.

If you want a solid sales strategy, and you want to develop new business for your company, why not call on the person in charge of selling? There is a director that runs a smoking cessation clinic in your city. He has a quota to make. There is a regional manager for a group of health clubs in your market and she has numbers to meet. There might even be someone in charge of indirect distribution for one of your wireless providers–someone who has to figure out how to get more phones and more contracts out of mall kiosks and other retailers they sell to.

Congratulations! After all of your creative efforts to stand out, establish credibility, and demonstrate expertise, your prospect has finally agreed to meet with you. Considering how many other salespeople likely call on them in your market, this is a huge win! However, what you do next could make it all worthwhile… or simply a waste of time.

Okay, so we’re all moving very quickly.  I get that.  You get busy, decide to cut a couple corners, and maybe skip a piece of paperwork here and there.

If you’re a client of The Center for Sales Strategy, this message could be akin to “singing to the choir.” But even the greatest practitioners of customer-focused selling can benefit from a reminder, from time to time.