Sales is Easy! Is That What You Think?

If one more trainer, vendor, or executive, acts or proselytizes how easy sales is, they are going to have to peel me off the ceiling.

The presentation goes something like this. “The client wants this” or maybe “the ROI will drive the client to this solution” or “if you just get the decision maker to answer these questions”.

Really, you have got to be kidding me. Is Sales that Easy?

For decades we (I still consider myself a sales person or this consulting gig ends pretty quickly) have been hearing, if you just say this, you’ll get that. But it’s just not that easy.

Today, the vendor and leadership are speaking about information technology assessments. The magic process of having a business owner let you come in, look through all their business processes, disrupt their environment, randomly engage employees and leadership alike, have them bear their souls in a way that points out errors in judgement at the worst or process and legacy inefficiencies at the least. This we’re asking to do in order to reach some nebulous, undefined and un-quantified end. I don’t know about you, but getting a business owner to do that, well, that’s salesmanship, but even at that, I could call sales easy.

I know, and so do you sales professionals, that to get to that point, several sales have already occurred. Getting in front of the right decision maker to apply the sales training we are receiving is where the rubber meets the road. If you and your business want to excel, you have to

invest the energy to get your sales people better at penetration not presentation.

The process started long before a salesperson got to speak about ROI, or Value Statements, or solutions. It started with a cold call (or warm call if you invested in some sort of social or direct marketing). The first contact and sale was made getting some uninterested and unemotional gatekeeper by navigating a conversation, showing or sharing some value, or you imparted enough F.U.D. (fear, uncertainty and doubt) to get them to give you to the individual that may or may not be the decision maker. There is no direct benefit to them only risk and it certainly isn't part of any reward system to put you through. Then to a manager or administrative assistant in a department same sales process. Why should they connect you (selling again huh? Then on you go to weave through a myriad of sales landmines to "set the appointment" with the right guy or girl. Then and only then does, potentially, the sales training they are receiving have specific value and the conversation get to be elevated to benefit solutions and real value.

So let’s say your salesmanship (sorry for the gender specific title, salespersonmanship sounded funky) gets this contact to accept your initial presentation. Then maybe you’ll get to sit with a decision maker to whom you’ve been referred. Now comes the high level, granular conversation that is all about “who, what, where, when, and how”. This seems to be the place all sales training, presentations and preparation begins in the minds of leadership these days.

You want more success in your sales organization?

Back up to the beginning and start training basic selling and human communications techniques. Lets talk about penetration, contacts, and conversation that impart confidence and value at the most basic level. Begin with the understanding of how to speak and present quickly, at a more human level, the value of the call and why it matters to them. Prepare people to manage rejection, be reactive to the input of the person on the other end of any conversation and compassionate about the reason they took the call in the first place. Stop preparing representatives, that anyone in your organization who is client facing, to sell products or services value at the subject matter expert level to the C suite, but at the gatekeeper and first level contact.

I’m open to any discussion here. But you’ll probably not sway my opinion until you get on the phone and make a hundred or so “pre-qualified” cold calls to Corporate America”. Then and only then will in my opinion you have the right to tell me sales is easy. Oh yeah, and you better make your quota this moth or your fired!

Robert Pappas

Sales Leader at Konica Minolta, Founder of SalesLinkage.com and Sales LinkageConsulting.com, Trainer, Facilitator, Public Speaker, Coach and Mentor, Robert Can Be Reached at (562) 547-9048 or [email protected]