Sales Chump

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.

Too many times I hear sales reps getting frustrated with slow sales or being stuck at a certain level without being able to increase it.  I ask what they are doing differently to help them get over their hump.  Most answers go something like, “nothing, I’m doing the same thing I always do, why?”

Albert Einstein once said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.  Why would anyone expect to do better or different by doing the same thing?  If your drowning or stuck at a sales plateau, change it up!

A football coach wouldnt’ keep calling the same play if it wasn’t working.  If play after play a running back was trying to run it up the middle with little or no gain, the coach would call another play.  Maybe a run outside, a pass play, or option.  Anything but running it up the middle.

Sales isn’t much different.  There are many things that can be changed in sales.  If you work on large corporations, start calling on smaller businesses or vice versa.  Change your script up, even something witty just added in, can change the whole mood.  “I know the last thing you wanted to do was listen to a sales pitch over the phone, but I’m confident if I can speak to you for just 2 minutes you will see the value it what I am offering.”  If you are going door to door, change your outfit.  If you pitch a certain benefit or competitive advantage, find another one you can use.  If you make 100 calls a day, make 120.  If you have 3 appointments, make 4.  If you knock on 50 doors, knock on 60.

The point is, something has to change or the end result won’t.  Don’t blame other things on your poor performance until you try some different approaches.