I used to do sales, then it got too tough… By Steve
Waterhouse
What makes sales so difficult for some people and so
much easier for others? Why do some companies thrive and
others fail to catch on, even when they have a great
concept? What is the secret to success in sales?
Obviously, there are many answers to these questions,
but I have discovered one that makes sales easier for
almost everyone.
The answer is… (not yet)
John, the cable guy, was at my house to fix the
converter box that had decided to erase all of the
programs we had recorded and refuse to record any more.
Not believing it was the box’s prerogative to make those
decisions, I called for help. John was very sharp. His
ability with people was far beyond what I had observed
from his peers who had been here on other occasions. I
had an interesting conversation with him as he swapped
out the box.
As he was leaving John asked, “What do you do?” When
I told him that I was a sales consultant and trainer he
lit up. “I did cable sales for a while. Then we ran out
of good leads and it got too tough. I made good money
when we had good leads, but when we had to just do cold
calling, it took too long to find an interested person.”
What he was saying is that selling is easy if you are
selling to people who want to buy. What a concept!
Better leads = more sales.
The answer is effective Prospecting!
At its most basic, sales could be reduced to these
two steps:
1. Find a willing party with a need.
2. Show them a solution that fits their need.
The better the willing party’s need matches your
solution, the higher the probability that a sale will be
made. Even a relatively unskilled sales person can sell
if the match is right. So, given that assumption, isn’t
it worth some effort to provide your sales team with
better leads?
Unfortunately, too many companies put 100% of the
prospecting on the backs of their sales team. Since many
of the effective techniques for prospecting are more
clerical or marketing related, shouldn’t we reevaluate
this approach? A $15/hour clerk can do mailings and free
up a $50/hour sales person for real selling time.
Our local cable company is still advertising for
sales people. Their turnover is awful. What would happen
if they built a better lead generating system and kept
their sales people in front of potential buyers? John
might still be selling and bringing in new customers.
My recommendations:
A. If you are a company executive, build a
prospecting system that generates good leads.
B. If you are a sales rep who has to fend for
yourself, build a system and find someone cheap to
manage it for you.
Good prospects = Good sales! You might also be
interested in my article, "10 Ways to Generate Great
Sales Leads". To get a copy, simply email article24@waterhousegroup.com.
Steve Waterhouse is Principal and Founder of Waterhouse
Group (www.waterhousegroup.com), a sales consulting and
training company that helps companies dramatically
increase their sales. He can be reached at
1-800-57-LEARN or
info@waterhousegroup.com.
Re-Print Permission
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information is included immediately after the article.
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1467 Walnut Creek Drive, Orange Park, FL 32003 within 30
days of publication.
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