16-Avoid Impossible Promises
Even if you disagree with the notion that it’s OK to say no, at the least try to refrain from saying yes or making commitments to a contractor that you’re pretty sure you can’t fulfill.
“Their time is money,” says Gary Lewis of Mendo Mill in northern California’s Mendocino County. “They have paid employees on the job. If you hold them up it is costly to them and you. When you tell them you will do something, then DO IT, even if it is bad news for you.”
17-Travel Less, Sell More?
F.P. Supply’s Worthington believes it’s getting harder to justify the value of putting a sales rep on the road. “People are wearing so many hats now, they have no time to stop and chat,” he says. Visiting on Friday afternoons are a waste, he says, and dealers are so busy Monday mornings that they don’t have time to listen to a sales rep. “So now you have a four-day week, and an outside sales guy can make maybe four to six product calls a day while he is piling on expenses,” he says. “That’s hopefully 16-24 calls a week, but you figure 50% (of the contacts) are not there and have no time.”
In contrast, Worthington estimates a good inside sales rep can make 35 productive outbound calls a day. “Simple math and the Internet are making the outside salesperson less effective,” he says. “[You can] travel for two hours and put on a 45-minute presentation or hold a conference call while they watch a 10-minute training video on YouTube and have a brief discussion afterwards.”
At Riverhead Building Supply in Shirley, N.Y., kitchen sales staff combine Internet tools such as Webex and GoToMeeting with the telephone to meet remotely with clients. Manager Bryan Kappenberg promotes this as a way for the client to save time and perhaps avoid having to hire a babysitter so that the parents can travel to the showroom. But he agrees that it also saves his staff time, too. Some are holding several meetings via the web each week.
18-Build Relationships
Sales trend lines may peak and crater, but the lows needn’t have to go down as far as the highs go up. One way to help ensure that happens, experts say, is by focusing on building relationships with a customer rather than viewing deals with a buyer as a series of one-off transactions.
“I don’t want to just sell product,” one manufacturer’s regional sales manager says. “I want to help a business owner achieve success in his or her business through our support and product lines. The economy will always have an ebb and flow. Core relationships established and maintained will provide a stable foundation for growth.
“A planned visit with a business agenda is just one small step I have my team taking in an effort to not waste a sales visit,” adds the sales manager, who asked to remain anonymous. “I have never been a fan of the ‘I’ll just drop by’ tactic encouraged by some companies. The effectiveness of our programs depends on quality time and focused goals. Our dealers deserve this.”
Says Kapres: “I tell my team that once you get the order, it is not the end of the sale, it is the beginning. We focus on after-the-sale things like extensive training to show our new customer our commitment to them and make sure they are satisfied with their decision to come on board with us.”
19-It’s OK To Negotiate Demands and Say No (Nicely)
“Try not to react to irrational and unreasonable client demands so fast,” says Davis, ProSales’ “Sell Sheet” columnist. “Slow down and get more information about what’s being requested, because those are time killers. They take you out of your territory and cost your company money.” When the client calls, get the details and define the reasonable parameters in which you can get the job done.
“Guys assume that ‘If I can turn the quote around immediately, I’m a good salesman,'” Davis says. “You’re wiser to ask, ‘When do you need the information?’ Don’t put artificial deadlines on yourself.” See if it’s possible to send out the goods on the next truck, or submit that take-off proposal in a couple of days. That takes the pressure off you and your staff to do something right away—probably in a frenzy—and instead perform the task in a better frame of mind.
The same holds true when people call or e-mail. “Just because you have a smart phone doesn’t mean you don’t have to use it when you’re in front of other people,” Davis says. Wait until you’re in a better position to call back or write a reply. And remember: Texting while driving is illegal in a lot of states.
“You don’t want to say ‘No,’ but you can say ‘Not now,'” Davis advises.
20-Automate, Automate, Automate
“The one, time-wasting practice that we have done away with is hand-writing quotes and orders and filing paperwork,” Perna of Hamilton Building Supply says. “We use computer software and centralized databases for everything, and in turn keep very little in our filing cabinets. Our quotes and orders get sent via e-mail (or fax) to customers, our signed hard copies of orders get scanned into our system as a PDF, and even our yard men receive an automatic printout of an invoice once material is sold in the store. Ulti-mately, finding documents via a computer search is much quicker than digging through a filing cabinet.”
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Incorporating these 20 ideas should help you raise your ratio of dollars generated per minute. But remember: Selling efficiently is more about increasing your sales revenue by eliminating waste than it is about generating lots more free time. Most reps who run efficient operations work as many hours as the disorganized ones. They just get more done.
“Don’t ever expect this is a 40-hour-a-week job,” Davis advises.
