Last week was a good week.  It was one of those weeks when leads popped up all at once on several prospecting efforts. 

My first feeling was "Why can’t every week be like this?"

But every week in selling is not like this because some components of the sales process are sequential.

When launching a new prospecting campaign there is inevitably a delay until leads start to come in.  It is during this delay that people in the sales team and management start to get uncomfortable.  People often start questioning the whole campaign.  Often I will hear "we must be doing something wrong" or "maybe we need to rework our message" or "this maybe our sales people are not the right people".

But once the first few big sales are made everyone changes their tune to one of praising the very same sales team they previously doubted.

Sales people and managers need to be patient.  Everyone is under pressure to bring in revenue but panicking during the inevitable sales cycle will not improve results, in fact it will do quite the opposite.  Constant reworking of your message, or changing the target list, or changing the sales team will greatly lengthen the sales cycle -- not reduce it.

So for success in prospecting -- be patient.

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I hear this quite often when companies are hiring sales people.  What does it really mean?  The description the companies give usually goes like this:

• Must have made, or exceeded quota, for the last five years
• Must have a great Rolodex of contacts in [our niche]
• Must be high-energy
• Must be a team player
• Must be comfortable with large amounts of cold calling
...plus several other characteristics...

It seems like the company is hoping that this sales "rock star" (a.k.a. "sales god") will walk through the door and solve all their problems in one single "bolt of lightening".  To me, this seems like an abdication of responsibility. 

Why should a company need a "rock star" when they understand how sales works in their business?  If they understand their sales process, could they not just hire an "ordinary sales person" (or even "an ordinary person") and train them to do the job really well?

Shouldn't a company take the responsibility to nurture relationships into leads in their own market niche?  Why should the sales person have to bring a "golden Rolodex"?  Shouldn't the company be building that over its years of existence?

If this sales person is so successful over so many years, is the company so great at what it does that this “rock star” is going to want to join?  Does the company really dominate its market or have the next iPod as a product?

Is your company really in the position to pay "mega bucks" to Bruce Springsteen or Bono (and would Bruce or Bono even want to come to work for you at any price) or do you need to hire some "ordinary people" and turn them into great sales people?

Posted by Sales 2.0 at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)