Why Salespeople Cannot Sell

“No. I am not interested in an office refit. I work from home.” Every few months, the same company emails me or calls me, offering a free estimate to refit my office. It’s always a different person. The last one probably got sacked for not selling anything….

?Are you sick of the endless spam on Linked In messages, cold sales emails, and cold calls from people who have not even spent a few minutes on Google to research your business and how they could open a meaningful conversation?

?I try not to get annoyed with the individuals because it’s not their fault. The reality is that no one is training them properly, and they are being set up to fail. ?I often offer to speak to their boss and offer sales training for them because, frankly, they need the help!

?So, does anybody have any sales skills anymore? It appears that few do, and it is getting worse.

As a VP of Sales, I noticed year-on-year the deterioration in the calibre of salespeople in the IT Industry. There were more and more poor salespeople, expecting huge salaries, with patchy track records, who couldn’t sell themselves or answer the most obvious questions. Honestly, the amount of people on six-figure salaries who cannot sell is staggering.

I admit that I was lucky in my sales career. ?I went through a big IT company’s sales school. They taught me the process and the art of selling with as much rigour as they would teach people how to code or how to project manage. Salespeople are critical and expensive, so it made sense to make them effective.

?When I completed my training, I worked with some great salespeople where I could see what ‘good’ looked like. So, I had the grounding, and I had the role models. I was then able to carry with me through my career the process and the methods of selling, of developing business and of building long-lasting client relationships.

This kind of training barely exists now, and the role models are harder to find.

There are several reasons for this dearth of sales skills.

?1.???? Few companies want to invest in this level of training anymore. They all want to hire people who are already established in other companies. The problem is that no one else is training them either!

2.???? Many business leaders (especially in the UK) ?don’t see sales as a profession and think anyone can do it. They either choose people with the ‘gift of the gab’ or put existing consultants into sales roles, give them a few days of training and set them off to fail.

?3.???? The Big tech companies have such a monopoly in some markets that their ‘salespeople’ don’t need to sell. Many of their so-called salespeople are just order takers and don’t understand actual ‘selling’. It does not take a rock star to sell products or services everybody wants or needs! So, when these people filter out into smaller companies that are not market leaders, they arrive in an environment where they need to sell and they do not know what to do.

4.???? There are fewer and fewer role models to learn from. Most have retired now. The great ones can pick and choose what they want to do.

We are in challenging economic times. In these times, we need great salespeople who can help companies gain market share. Sales skills are required more than ever and are skills that every business leader should have. Because we need sales to have businesses.

?How salespeople can up their game

?So let me be helpful and suggest to all salespeople out there how you can be more effective in selling to me or others.

1.???? Do your research on me and my business. If you can’t see a valid reason to contact me beyond asking, “Do you want IT development services?” and listing what your company does, do not waste your time or mine. Consider why I will take your call/ read your email and engage with you.

2.?? Do not try and sell me something when I do not know you. Think about what value you can provide me before you even try to sell something. You must earn trust and prove value. Please give me something of value from the outset. By doing that, you create a reason to continue a dialogue, and you begin to earn the right to sell me something.

?3.???? Don’t get overfamiliar and start speaking like I am a friend. I don’t know you. Be professional and establish a reason for me to engage with you. Be confident in calling because you know you have value and because you have done some research on who you are calling. It will make you feel better and will get a better reaction from me.

4.???? Remember always that people only buy when they know you, trust you and like you. On average, we need eight interactions before someone will buy. If you push people into buying before they are ready, you will lose them.

I am always open to talking to salespeople who have something valuable to tell me. I will be respectful to you when you give me the courtesy of doing your homework.?

The good news for you is that the general standard of selling is so low that by just following these basic rules, you can stand out from the crowd.

?About Jonathan

From my 25 years of experience in selling high-value solutions, I developed the ‘Sales Free Selling System?. This system is the ‘Holy Grail’ of Selling because it aligns with how your buyers think and positions you well above your competition. It is a system where customers want to buy from you and will pay you premium prices to work with you.

?I teach this to selected organisations who want to improve their sales performance.