Health & Fitness
Are Your Sales People Guilty of This Sales Crime?
When sales people are on the prowl for new business, they often commit a sales crime. In this episode of the Sales Management Minute, find out if you are guilty of this sales crime.
It’s the middle of the night. There’s a pounding at the door. You scramble to put on your robe and rush downstairs to see who it is. It’s the police!
"We want to talk to you about a crime...”
How did they find you? Did they just knock on every door until they found a suspect? Of course, they didn’t. The evidence has led them to your doorstep and that’s why they are contacting you right now.
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Could you imagine if the police’s strategy to solve crimes was to ring every doorbell and say "Hi, did you commit a crime today? If so, could you tell me which one?” No suspect would ever be caught.
As ridiculous as that sounds, this is exactly how most sales people approach their search for new business. They start making calls without a "crime theory” which means good luck finding suspects. If you can’t find suspects, you can’t turn them into prospects. No prospects means no sales. That’s a sequence of events that even makes sense to Inspector Clouseau.
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There’s an old expression about sales being merely a numbers game. While there is truth to the need for quantity, quality is the ultimate measure. To develop your "crime theory,” visit the company’s website, perform a Google search on them and research "titles.” By "titles,” I mean the titles of those you would be calling on. It would be helpful for your "crime theory” if before you call a CFO that you know what CFOs are most concerned about today.
With these three pieces of evidence in hand, connect them with the problems your products solve. Don’t ever pick up the phone to find new business without identifying your "crime theory” … or run the risk of the sales management police knocking on your door.
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Lee B. Salz is a leading sales management strategist and founder and CEO of Sales Architects, Business Expert Webinars and The Revenue Accelerator. Lee has authored several books including Soar Despite Your Dodo Sales Manager and is the host of the Sales Management Minute. Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitects.net or 763.416.4321.
