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It’s A Tough World Out There …

“Reality Check #1 - A Few Things a Customer Expects Their Sales Rep to Know”

Hi again,

I'm Malcolm Mills, and here are a few tips to help you understand what is going on inside a Buyer’s head. Hey, I know it’s not a place you really want to go but someone has to suck it up and venture there and you’ve been elected. After all, you'll be the one to profit from it,right?

But before we start, doesn’t it just boggle your mind sometimes just how complicated life actually gets? Don’t you find it crazy sometimes? We work our skinny butts off to accomplish something really great and important like gaining this fantastic new corporate account and then without meaning to, we let it all crash and burn in a long slow spiraling death! Go figure.

Actually, let me re-phrase that. Doesn’t it boggle your mind just how complicated our bosses and managers complicate our lives sometimes? Oops, that’s another story for another time, right?

But I guess you get the idea. Be it from dumb corporate policy or because we are overworked or understaffed, or even because we ourselves are personally neglectful, we often lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Our customers go somewhere else.

I’ll be perfectly honest with you, I’m no salesman. In fact I’m about the worst salesperson you could ask for. You are a hundred times better than I am, no matter how bad you are. On a scale of one to ten, I rank about a dismal three…and at that, I am being fairly generous to myself.    However, if you want to know what I’ve LEARNED from salespeople over the past twenty years or so, now that’s a different story. Pull up a chair amigo, I have a tale to tell you.

In each and every week of your sales career so far, you have been influenced, urged, pressured, begged, scolded, badgered, leaned upon, persuaded, swayed, won over, converted or even wooed. (we won’t get into that one …)   You are all but beaten physically and scourged, to grow your sales profits bigger each quarter, while simultaneously and exponentially increasing your client base (who incidentally must be spending more and more money annually with you no matter what the economy or the markets are doing. Oh yes, and all this without neglecting the accounts you already have …. Isn’t it ironic? And all of this from people who say they are on your side…. Right. Kiss my grits.

In reality, you are already too rushed to perform your job properly. You’ve told them this a thousand times but no-one is listening, right? Certainly your customer isn’t and the good Lord knows your manager isn’t. Unfortunately your customers have their own troubles and with any luck , you aren’t one of them….

You beat your head against a brick wall day after day. That’s reality, that’s life in the sales lane, that’s what you have to cope with if you want to sell to industry these days. Hey, you can handle it, right?

But hold on folks, there's hope. Despite your own internal pressures, here are a few things can help you do just that. Handle it. That’s what they expect of you.

Remember this. Your greatest asset is information. So here is some great information that can help you. It’s not new but it’s essential.

Here is what Customers (Buyers) expect of their sales reps whether your manager (or you) think you have the time for it all, or not: (hey, I didn’t invent reality, it came with the "free market" idealogy. Sorry)

(1)    Research the company and be at least partially familiar with the problems the client may be experiencing in dealing with all facets of your company. i.e. how many of your shipments have been on time, late or expedited? Buyers won’t always bring this up but they are well aware how many times you (your company) screw up. When I say “you” don’t forget that could mean any department in your company from your inside sales staff to your shipping department, to your accounting department.

(2)   Be familiar with your client’s growth requirements. Never mind their strategy, find out what they are actually doing and are forecasting to do in the next year or six months. (At least know what issues or problems their industry is experiencing worldwide and attempt to envision how it may affect their production.)   Are you capable of meeting their future requirements? What if there is a reduction in requirements? What do you do then?

(3)   Print a report or compile a historical chart of past purchases over the years since you either won the account or inherited it. The customer probably knows if it’s up or down. You should too. You should also know by how much.

(4)   Remember the immortal words of Alfred Edward Housman … “The house of delusions is cheap to build but drafty to live in ….”

Never delude yourself into believing that all is well just because no-one has telephoned you and screamed in your ear lately. Chances are they have been too busy calling your competitor for a quote. No, I’m NOT joking!

Sales person, know this. It’s the same in most industries.   Most people never have enough time to do their jobs properly. It’s actually a good thing really. If Buyers had enough time to do their own jobs properly, they’d probably change suppliers even more often than they do, believe me. Hmmm, is that a silver lining I see? Definitely, the glass is half full today.

Pay attention to this please. The real trick is to be aware of the critical issues weighing on a customer/Buyer’s mind! The above tips will help you do that. Lots of luck! Remember, prepare yourself with the information pertinent to each customer, no more cookie-cutter-customer-crapola.

For the full meal deal on how to keep your customers happy, order the how-to book, It’s a Tough World Out There! 25 Ways To Lose a Customer-25 Ways To Fix It

For books, Click here to review the ordering options...

If you like what you’ve heard so far and want to hire a speaker for your next conference, convention or annual meeting, again Click here or on the Speaker Button at the top of the page.

Keep an eye on our regular feature in Progressive Distributor magazine where the illustrious Frank Hurte and I debate the Buyer Seller relationship in detail within every issue.

Cheers from Malcolm at Toughworld.Net Consulting & Training!