Salesperson Effectiveness

 

A common concern of many sales managers is the return on investment for the comp and expenses required to have a salesperson in the field. Of course, this is not universal, however for startup companies, and companies that compete in low margin industries, it is a very real concern.

This brings to mind the concept of preparation, experience, focus, human relations skills, organization and product knowledge just to name a few foundational aspects for an effective salesperson.

There are six components that every small to medium size enterprise salesperson should have acquired to be considered a master in their craft.

1.     Product knowledge

2.     Company knowledge

3.     Selling skills

4.     Industry knowledge

5.     Customer knowledge

6.     The customer’s industry knowledge

For the majority of the SMBE salespeople, a knowledge of digital marketing skills will be considered an essential element of their selling skills. Simply because the smaller firms may lack the resources to fund a complete digital marketing effort. And, let’s face it, the salesperson should know more about their customers and prospects. Consequently, it is the salesperson who should be able to draft the most persuasive appeal to those prospects.

For the new company, new territory expansion, or new product launch, the need will be to focus primarily on prospecting to gain a foothold in the marketplace.

Since no one competes as a monopoly, the strategy must include a powerful message of interruption that draws a prospect to listen to the message and take it seriously. And by seriously, that means to make a change in products or suppliers. It’s not a total dog eat dog, winner take all world, but eventually someone must come in behind the winner.  

One of the best ways to develop a powerful message of interruption is to understand your customer’s deepest concerns. Research their industry and your capabilities to understand their anxiety, fears, frustration, stress or what may provide a peace of mind for them.

Once you get a firm grasp on their concerns, you have better opportunity to reach those prospects on an emotional level. And as we all know there is an element of emotion in every decision. Do not ignore the fact that your product must compete on a functional level. There is no getting around that fact. Have a viable product or go back to square one and start over.

Allow me to give you a couple of examples to illustrate how this would play out.

When I was in the safety equipment industry there were several factors in play at all times. Number one was the basic concept of concern for the well being and productivity of the individual workers. Injuries that resulted in lost time incidents meant pain, suffering and income loss for the employee. It also included lost productivity and higher cost for the company. If the lost time incident rate was too high, it meant higher insurance costs for the employer.

Violation of OSHA laws could mean fines and negative publicity for the employer as well. These factors could be used to generate a strong emotional interruption for our prospects. New OSHA laws were particularly impactful because that opened the door for providing new standards training and promoted the sales team as subject matter experts.

In the hard drive industry, there was a high susceptibility to product loss due to an electro-static discharge event during the manufacturing phase. Consequently, the concern over low percentage production yields drove a mandatory interest in the ionization equipment that my company manufactured. It was relatively easy to gain access to those decision makers. This was very true if there was a technical innovation in the ionization tool that made it more effective.   

This concept should allow you to think about the deepest concerns of your prospects as it relates to the products you sell. Take some time to brainstorm your approach.

As you take time to draft a new version of your approach, ask yourself how I would feel if I was in my customer’s shoes.

What would create worry and stress for them?

What happens when they don’t have funding to properly run their organization?

What do they think when they become aware of a knowledge shortage to maintain competitiveness?

What happens to them personally and professionally when they fail to hit their goals?

What really makes them angry?

What unknown causes them to worry?

What are competitors doing to eat away at their business?

What weak habits are causing them to lose productivity?

As you review these questions, I’m sure you can come up with your own questions specifically pertaining to your industry.

Consider how your overall presentation produces a solution to their frustrations, anxiety, and stresses. Then use this emotional appeal to transition into the statistics and science that proves your product is a “best fit” solution to their concerns.

When you create your best interruption message, then it is important to decide how to get it front of your prospects. Every marketer and sales guru will tell you their way is best. And they may have some valid points, however, keep in mind that they also have a strong profit motive that drives them to be biased for their method.

Keep in mind that your initial efforts are going to fall into the marketing category. It is your responsibility to get that message in front of the correct target market with multiple methods. Tools like your website, social media campaigns, webinars, newsletters, and live events are viable ways to approach your market.

In my opinion, if you are breaking the ice with your product, then nothing exceeds direct phone calls. An exception might be if you are in a situation to afford extensive click per pay ad campaigns.

Phone calls yield multiple benefits to the seller. They deliver an interruption message. They provide immediate competitive feedback, and they help refine your target market faster than most other methods. The key to this method is repetitive calls.

Obviously, this article did not address every aspect of a salesperson’s effectiveness. That could take volumes of insight and instruction. However, it does address a very important facet of the sales approach. Walk a mile in your customer’s shoes and craft your best approach.

Gary D. Seale – MBA

Principal at Trucon Communications and Consulting