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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Tag Archives: sales management
“Everyone has Gotten So Rude!”
Not too long ago, I was leading a group of business owners in a discussion. These were not my peer board members, but rather owners at a breakfast, none of whom I’d met before. To start the conversation, I asked … Continue reading
6 Responses to “Everyone has Gotten So Rude!”
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Do Titles Make Leaders?
You’ve promoted a great employee beyond his capabilities. He is putting in long hours, but appears unable to keep up with the new responsibilities. In fact, he doesn’t even seem to understand what those responsibilities are, or what they should … Continue reading
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Why Do We Hate Salespeople?
A recent episode of “Downton Abbey” included a new servant tasked with passing out canapés at a dinner party. “Try one of these,” he quietly suggested to a guest. “I’m told they are quite good.” He was immediately pulled aside … Continue reading
5 Responses to Why Do We Hate Salespeople?
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If salespeople are hunters in a business culture dominated by farmers, why do I hate being interrupted by ill-prepared, gum chewing, robo-call driven telemarketers? I have managed several very successful sales teams, even started my career in a sales capacity. On a DISC chart I am shown to be a blend of task oriented and influencing. And I am the rainmaker in my own company today, successfully closing introverts and extroverts alike.
People hate salespeople because (1) most of them really stink at their profession, and (2) the craft is deemed something anyone can do.Don’t believe me? Name the one university in the entire USA that offers a degree program in Sales. Can’t, can you?
Our nation’s corporations and privately owned businesses all depend on sales people. Every mobile phone store, every insurance agency, every capital goods manufacturer… there are literally tens of thousands of sales positions through out the country. But few of them provide any real or substantive training and fewer still put quality over quantity. And most play the numbers game.
The real answer- there is simply no alignment between the decision maker’s preference of behavior and the cold call that too many companies still reply on. Cold calling (not so affectionately known as interruptive selling in my office) dates back to a time when the telephone was new and novel, and product or service information was harder to obtain. Add to this today people have to do more with fewer resources (fewer people) and trying to pitch them while they are under a deadline makes little sense.
Even less if you are unprofessional and ill-prepared.
At the risk of appearing to steal your blog, here is an article I wrote some time ago, and believe to be accurate today. http://zenmarketinginc.com/just-effective-cold-calling-anyway/
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John H: as a career salesperson / sales manager / CEO leader I could not agree with your more. Preparation for ‘making the sale’ is sorely lacking in just about every industry. I thought you might like to know that at least one public university does offer sales degrees, http://www.utoledo.edu/business/ESSPS/. I believe I have heard of others. Can’t vouch for any of them but that they exist is a good sign for raising the bar.
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This statement in your post summarizes it – The best salespeople are focused on serving a customer’s need. People hate sales people because they forget this and try to push their products or services down customers throats without understanding their needs. Those who ask questions first and understand customers issues and needs before offering them the products are the ones who will be loved by customers.
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Maybe it’s because 20% of people in sales are professionals, do their research, and have polished their skills. The other 80% are going through the motions, always in ‘sales” mode, and lack any real training. The bottom 80% are also unsupported from a savvy marketing team, and generally work for companies (or owners) who insist on following a sales process they themselves don’t even respond to (cold calling).
Did you know there is only one university in the USA offering a degree in sales? Yet how many sales people do you know? Society places a minuscule importance on this profession (Lost a job? Why not go into sales?) Anyone can do it.
Find a business owner who fully understands the entire sales process, invests in marketing, has realistic goals setting, and properly rewards achievement (results and motivation) and you’ll find those 20% of sales people.
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Hey Merv… what can I say? Haters gonna hate.
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What a Customer Needs May Not Be What He Wants
The owner of an IT services company recently presented his new reporting system to his peer board. They had provided substantial input as to what they, as customers, would want to see from their technology provider. Per their advice, he provided … Continue reading
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When Employee Incentives Don’t Work
My definition of an incentive is variable compensation designed to encourage specific behavior. The challenge is to make sure that behavior is really something you want to encourage. A home building company bonuses purchasing managers based on their ability to reduce … Continue reading
It is true that we don’t see cold call sales people, but we do try to treat them courteously.
Interesting and so true. The World has changed! When I started in sales in 1979, I use to park my car in an industrial area, and walk the block making cold calls. I do not believe that would work in today’s world.
Just like a lot of us grew up with an open chain link fence or no fence at all. We all knew our neighbors.
Today most fences are tall wooded structures that are not open to your neighbors to see in, and a lot of us never see or know our neighbors.
I agree that most of my calls today are “warm calls”. Either the customer found us on the web and ask to see us, or I connect with a referral or follow up from a show.
However I do miss the FUN of making cold calls. Use to learn a lot about an area and meet new and interesting people.
Mike
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I began selling in 1964. From day #1 – based on the sales book used at my Monsanto sales training course, “How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Sales” by Frank Bettger – I always worked by appointment out of respect for the other person’s time. I felt that just “dropping by” suggested that the CEO or Purchasing Agent had little to do besides entertain me.
That said, when I would call for appointments, I usually got a somewhat friendly reception and an appointment.
In 1975 I changed to selling estate planning/financial planning just like your subject in your opening story. We called on business owners – valuable, illiquid assets like a business need cash, i.e. insurance, to pay estate taxes at death. WHen I made that switch, also moving to New England from the Midwest at the time, I found an ENTIRELY different atmosphere – hostile, suspicious, defensive, closed off.
Since then it’s only gotten worse. Coward that I am, I now employ a telemarketer to “sell” initial telephone consultations. Easier appointment to get, somewhat less productive than face-to-face.
As pointed out, the Internet has changed so much. It used to be that sales calls were an important source of information. Now we are constantly bombarded with information, and the challenge is on filtering most of it out. Which comes across as abrupt or rude. We have been trained the we can search for what we need when we need it. Knowing exactly what we are looking for has become the challenge.
Our distribution business requires cold calling. We get no where with phone calls and little with emails, so we go to the prospects. In food service this has not become entirely unexpected. We apologize for interrupting, introduce ourselves, leave a card, ask for a card and a future appointment. Rarely are we treated poorly and the results are still worthwhile.
I agree, Jeff. The restaurant industry – perhaps due to the more hectic nature of mealtime rush and lulls combined with the “hospitality” aspect of greeting everyone as a potential customer, is one of those where cold calling is still effective and expected.