The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Our recently published report, The Biggest Challenges of Media Salespeople and Sales Managers, reveals the findings of a study we completed late in 2013.  The questionnaire offered sales managers a list of 14 current issues they may be wrestling with, and asked them to select their three biggest—the three problems that, if solved or even partially solved, would make the biggest difference in their operation. Too many products and services to sell popped up near the top of that list, as Management Challenge #3.

It might be those first few moments after you get back to your car following an important presentation. It could be while you’re riding to the airport after a critical needs analysis. Perhaps it is those minutes that immediately follow a conference call or an online meeting where a big renewal was discussed.

Yes, every client-facing meeting is critical, whether it happens online, on the phone, or face-to-face. The time you spend with any target or key account is likely to impact your top line revenue, and therefore, your income. But those minutes are mostly important to a specific sale or client relationship. Reflecting on how the meeting went—the first five minutes after you’ve met with a target or key account—are important to your career. Because you’re using this experience to get better, build on success, and note mistakes so you can avoid them in the future. Bottom line: You’re improving the very next meeting or client interaction you have. 

This is going to sound way over-simplified, but that’s okay. The way to avoid a sales wreck is the same way you avoid a crash on the highway: Avoid distractions, pay attention to the highway signs, and follow the rules. In sales, you and the client establish the rules early and often (this is called contracting and partnering). But you also have to avoid distracted selling, and pay attention to the signs your prospect or client is giving you. Even when you’re supposed to be the one who’s presenting.

You would never get almost all the way to your destination, and decide it would be okay to stop steering your car. You can’t just focus on the instruments of your dashboard and hope to arrive alive; you have to keep your eyes on the road, and even drive for the other guy, at times, to make sure you get where you want to go. 

Take off your seller hat just for a minute and put on your buyer (consumer) hat. You walk into a Verizon store to check out all the new tablets available. The salesperson calls your number (because you had to wait your turn). Instead of asking you about how you plan to use the tablet and showing you some of the options available on the two contrasting tablets they think are most suitable to your needs, they take a different approach. They ask you how much you make, how you currently spend your money and start to brainstorm things you might consider doing without so you can afford the tablet. That would be an odd approach don't you think?

Our recently published report The Biggest Challenges of Media Salespeople and Sales Managers turned up a finding that surprised nobody around here!

When media sales managers were offered a list of 14 challenges that might give them sleepless nights… 14 problems that, if even partially solved, would generate a big payoff, they voted more often for Finding great salespeople than for any other item on the list. Indeed, this #1 finisher scored more than half again as many votes as the #2 finisher.  

January creates challenges and opportunities all rolled into one. It's challenging to leave the holiday break in the rearview mirror and get back to business. It wouldn’t be so tough if you just wanted to get back into your normal routine. But you know that just getting back to your routine isn’t enough. You have new ideas that you believe will lead to stronger sales performance, and January is the time to put those plans in motion.      

I came across an interesting quote the other day:  “Instead of trying to explain how valuable you are, demonstrate how you add value.” That sounds like a simple nuance, but it is at the heart of what we teach at The Center for Sales Strategy: Instead of preaching about why to buy your product or service, you should focus on how a prospect should use—and extract maximum value—from it. 

So what is value?  Who decides what is valuable?  And what determines how valuable a valuable thing is?  If you answered, “The Customer,” I like you:  Your heart is in the right place. 

But you’re wrong.

Our recent release of The Biggest Challenges of Media Salespeople and Sales Managers has attracted a lot of attention and drawn a lot of comment. One thing people are chatting about is what sellers and managers agree on, and where they see the world differently.

Early in my career there was a sale I never made that, after 15 years, still drives me crazy. It was a six-figure deal where I “felt” I had done everything right. But when phone calls suddenly weren’t being returned from a client with whom I had a “great relationship” (after all, we had a fantastic lunch with lots of laughs a few weeks earlier) I had a panicked feeling in my stomach. I realized I had done many things wrong. Instead of spending enough time learning about his business, I spent too much time developing the personal side of our relationship. Instead of developing a customized solution, I developed a proposal that focused on why my company was a great fit. The reality was I never had a shot, and what was worse I didn’t realize it until it was too late. The day the contract came rolling into my competitor I vowed I would NEVER put myself in that situation again with this client or any other client. 

We all know the goal of a needs analysis is to uncover a need the customer has… not just fill-up a precious appointment with a long list of questions. But when a need first reveals itself during the client needs analysis, should you change course and immediately pursue the revenue opportunity that first need might represent? 

Not so fast.