Sales Chump

No matter how good you are at your sales job, you should always have a script, or a trail to the sale.  This will provide consistency and if you start getting off topic, it will guide you back on track.  This is especially important while talking on the phone but can apply face to face as well. 

This isn’t a one size fits all.  You should have multiple scripts for different scenarios and parts of the sales cycle.  For example, your introductory script won’t be the same as your follow up or closing script.  You will also need different scripts depending on the time of year, increasing or decreasing prices, state of the economy, etc.  If you are proactive with this and already have scripts in place, you will be able to adjust quickly and avoid a dip in sales. 

Practice your script so as not to sound like a robot.  You don’t want the customer to be able to identify you are reading or have memorized a script.  Try saying it in a mirror at first.  Practice with friends or family members in person and on the phone.  Once you are ready, unleash it on your prospects.  Don’t get discouraged if the first few times it doesn’t come out right.  If you have done the prep work the learning curve will be very short. 

Once you have scripts in place and have used them for a certain period of time you can start to tweak them.  You can compare the results of the original script compared to the newly tweaked script.  Simply continue the one that closes the most deals or makes you the most money.  Keep the old script handy and make write notes on the back of the script of what worked and what didn’t, what time of year it was, how long it was used for and how much money you made while using it.  It seems like a lot but this can pay high dividends in the long run.

One thing I see time and time again is a sales rep working the same account for what seems like an eternity and not getting anywhere with it.  This is very frustrating from a reps perspective and a management perspective.  If a correct sales process was followed along with follow up after follow up with no further action, it’s time to cut bait!

This scenario is going to happen at some point no matter what and the best thing to do is try to learn from it and move on.  There are plenty of other prospects that will make a decision much quicker.  This may frustrate your reps because they think they will eventually land the customer or the deal.  This could be true however the time spent on running in place could be used much more effectively to land accounts that are willing to do something now.

I give my reps two options when they must cut bait.  The first is to cut bait, but set a reminder 3-6 months down the road.  I instuct them to not look at the account in that time and then call back after those months have passed to see if the prospect has changed their mind.  Things may have changed in that time period and they may be willing to make a decision at that time.

The second is to swap off your cut bait leads to someone else on your team.  A new perspective and style is sometimes all that is needed to land the deal.  This works best when other reps take and give the leads to a certain partner or spread it around evenly.  Sales is mostly an individual game but when other employees are successful it spreads.  This has been the most effective of the two options for me. 

Another amazing thing may also happen when a rep cuts bait.  The customer is no longer pursued or chased and calls back to complete the sale on their own.  I’m not sure exactly why this occurs but it seems like they finally have time to realize this is something they are missing out on and don’t want to miss the boat when it has pushed away from the dock. 

The time at which to cut bait will be different depending on what a normal sales cycle is and what kind of product is being sold.  The sales manager needs to be aware of that time and advise the rep to cut bait and move on.  This will allow the rep to be more productive with other leads and enable them to land more, instead of just spinning their wheels.