In the course of the late 1980’s I was a field profits agent for a computer system distributor, advertising personal computer systems and peripherals in and close to Los Angeles, California. The traffic was horrendous, and the time I squandered driving to and from appointments just drove me crazy (no pun meant).
Certain, you could have cell cellular phone conversations with prospective buyers and buyers, but you couldn’t produce notes even though driving (unless you had a dying would like), and you couldn’t put together proposals and fax them. Additionally, there was almost nothing like slogging by means of targeted visitors to go to a meeting, only to find out that the assembly experienced been cancelled at the final minute.
Why did I shell out so substantially time driving? The firm I worked for experienced a prejudice versus salespeople paying out time in the workplace. They felt that salespeople should be in entrance of prospective customers and consumers as a lot as humanly doable, and that time expended is the business office was “squandered time”. Many other corporations shared this philosophy, which intended that prospects and clients have been “properly trained” to e-book appointments with salespeople if they required their help.
I have constantly been a true believer in the saying a salesperson’s only stock is TIME. I felt that if I could uncover some way to decrease my “windshield time”, I would be substantially a lot more productive. Thankfully I worked for a progressive gross sales supervisor, and he gave me authorization to check out the following experiment.
When a telephone conversation with a prospect or purchaser acquired to the place exactly where it made sense for us to ebook an appointment, I would ebook the appointment. Having said that, alternatively of ending the call, I would say a thing like:
(Name), your time is worthwhile, and so is mine. I would like to make positive we make the finest use of our time with each other on (appointment date). If it is really Okay with you, I would like to inquire you some issues prior to our conference so that I can be as very well-geared up as feasible. Do you have time now, or must we reserve a transient phone appointment concerning now and (appointment date)?
I identified that potential clients and customers were always keen to make time to solution my concerns, either correct then or in the course of a scheduled telephone contact. What inquiries did I ask? All of the questions I wanted to talk to to comprehensively qualify the possibility! When I had concluded the opportunity qualification, I would say a thing like:
(Name), we can nevertheless get collectively on (appointment date) if you desire. Or, I could fax you a proposal in 20 minutes. Which would you choose?
Do you know what? Not Just one prospect or client Ever required to go forward with our scheduled appointment! They were delighted that I could fax them a proposal so immediately. They weren’t interested in acquiring a assembly or looking at me in individual — they ended up fascinated in having their issues solved!
The conclusion final result of the experiment was that I produced my quota during my very first whole calendar year as a discipline income representative for the laptop distributor, and more than doubled my quota the up coming calendar year. When I was promoted to income management, I quietly disregarded my employer’s mandate that salespeople spend most of their time in entrance of customers. Alternatively, I qualified my product sales workforce to do what I had finished, and my product sales branch performed exceptionally well.
Does that signify you should really by no means have in-man or woman meetings with prospective customers or buyers?
Of training course not! In-particular person conferences can deliver serious price, specially when it arrives to constructing long lasting relationships. The challenge is that most businesspeople are incredibly chaotic, and they want their problems solved as promptly and successfully as feasible. If you can aid them achieve that purpose, you will have the luxury of deciding upon mutually easy occasions to program anxiety-no cost in-person meetings.
In present day globe, with the availability of e-mail, teleconferencing, and net conferencing systems, it is simpler than at any time to offer efficiently although minimizing windshield time. Use technologies to your advantage, and make optimum use of your only stock — time!
Copyright 2005-2008 — Alan Rigg