Sales Professionals Are Constantly Thirsty, Are You?

"The desire of knowledge, like the thirst of riches, increases ever with the acquisition of it."

Laurence Sterne

Feedback isn’t just for rookies. As the leader I know you are, it's part of your job to evaluate yourself, solicit feedback, and then hold yourself accountable for how you apply it.

Throughout your sales career, the feedback you’ve earned is necessary for continued growth.

Sales is a competitive and tough. It's not for the weak at heart. The highs are high and the lows are low.

There is a massive difference between a sales rep and a sales professional.

Some may say it's the competitive inner drive. How do sales professionals continually get better?

• They constantly work on their mindset, heartset and skillset
• They are locked in on their goals
• They have relentless determination
• They have uncompromising discipline
• They have a huge desire to outperform their best and others’ best

“Feedback is a gift. Ideas are the currency of our next success. Let people see you value both feedback and ideas.”

Jim Trinka and Les Wallace

I believe there is ONE THING that separates sales professionals from sales reps. It's the passion and thirst-quenching feedback they get from their clients.

THE THIRST FOR CLIENT FEEDBACK

If you fail to continually find out what your clients think about you and your service, you'll never be able to give them the best experience they deserve. It's their opinions about the experience they have with you that is helpful to use to adjust your support to fit their needs more accurately.

Insincere and canned emails soliciting feedback doesn't cut it. And, lord knows you know what I mean because many of you send them out.

To truly serve your clients is to listen to them. 

Sales professionals intently listen to their "client voices" through consistent and constant feedback. They treat clients like royalty, providing everything to match their wants and needs all the time.

Together, let's think for a moment...

• How do you know if what you're doing is working?
• How do you know if your clients are happy with their experiences or with you?
• What do they like and dislike?
• How are you keeping up with what's going on inside their company?

Sales professionals quench their thirst with client feedback

Feedback is the breakfast for sales champions. They quench their sales thirst with meaningful and heartfelt feedback.

The best thing you can do is to go to your clients and get feedback.

"When you give your buyers feedback, you are giving them a gift. In turn, they'll understand what works and what doesn't work in your interactions. When you seek and respond to feedback from your buyers, you differentiate yourself, set an example, and make it easier for them to hear your suggestions."

Deb Calvert

You must be willing to look for honest, candid and sometime uncomfortable feedback from your clients. Sales professionals know this makes them better. To get great feedback, one must become vulnerable and shall I say, surrender.

QUENCH YOUR THIRST WITH A CUP OF COURAGE

How can you take your sales career to the next level? Simple, feedback will set you free! It's the feedback you get from a cross section of your clients that will provide the avenues to grow relationships, grow yourself and grow your referrals.

Here is a suggestion, place your clients into three buckets. Sort your clients by...

• You love them and they love you
• Challenging
• Middle of the road clients, ones you just don't hear much from

The best place to start gathering feedback is from those clients who have been placed in the "middle of the road" bucket.

Why? You may not see them on a consistent basis and you may tell yourself, "all is well" but in actuality they may become vulnerable to a hostile takeover.

You must be willing to quench your sales thirst with feedback. Your clients are the best source of help. You must be willing to ask.

You have not because you ask not

THE THIRST AND DRIVE TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

The opportunities for growth inside your client base are enormous. I'm sure you've established a relationship, but the question becomes, "How credible is the relationship?"

Professionals dig in and ask...

• What can I do differently?
• What can I do to improve or enhance the experience I provide to you?
• What can I do to help you do better business?

I'm asking you to rock the boat on this one because a comfortable mindset with your clients is a terrible thing to waste. Think of the all your competitors circling your clients just waiting for the right moment to reel them into their establishments of paradise.

STAY THIRSTY MY SALES FRIENDS

The client comfort zone is a terrible place to be in. You will be amazed what you learn outside this zone.

Imagine for a moment that your smack dab in the middle of the Sahara Desert. You've been wandering aimlessly for hours, you're tired and thirsty. Suddenly you come across a watering hole or is it a mirage, a figment of your imagination.

Well my sales folks, investing in your client relationships shouldn't be a mirage. Fill up your pipeline with client feedback and stay thirsty my friends.

Client feedback is a terrible thing to waste

I understand, I get where you all are coming from. Every day, I walk in your shoes. I am fully committed to helping your sales team integrate social aspects and heartfelt strategies into your current sales process to grow new business. I want you to get results. This is why I am passionate about doing this the right way, the genuine way, the authentic way! It's about understanding value before visibility.

Selling From the Heart is making a difference! I poured my heart into every page of this book and I think you're going to love it. You can find it on Amazon in paperback, kindle and in audio. You can click on the book image below and this will take you to Amazon.

You can find more material inside Selling From The Heart.

In a world full of empty suits, I'm passionate about helping sales reps succeed by getting valuable before they get visible. I help sales teams understand the true value they bring to the market. 

I appreciate getting the opportunity to share my stories. Integrating the use of social and sharing my story on LinkedIn was my “game-changer” in the highly competitive office technology world. With great pride I transform, challenge, coach and inspire sales teams to grow new business by helping them share their story and how they communicate it out by integrating the use of social inside the sales process. You can follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and on my podcast by clicking on Selling from the Heart.