Articles and Consulting

The Inner Workings of the Best: How to Become a Great Sales Representative

From being both a heavily solicited business owner and sales placement professional, on a weekly basis, I typically interact with over 100 sales representatives. I don’t work in a specific industry (only profession: sales), therefore I get to observe sales representatives from virtually every industry. Occasionally, I will stray from sales and assist a client fill an accounting, analyst, receptionist or marketing opening. Through my line of work, I have detected two very important idioms. First, if you are a good salesman, you can sell any product within reason. Second, more so than I’ve seen in any other occupation, the gap between the professional acumen of a superior and average sales representative is vast.

It is not new news that all sales representatives must engage in constant interaction with others. The good professional listens to the client, is concise with their language, speaks well and is able to build and maintain a personal relationship with their account directors. Rain or shine, they make sure they can continuously generate revenue. Despite frustrating fluctuations, the top men and women remain passionate about selling. They thrive off of the fact that they are paid on performance in lieu of the consistent pay check. On the other hand, lackluster sales representatives show deficient enthusiasm and have an unwillingness to analyze then correct their style according to what works.

Effective sales requires intelligence, drive, charisma, passion and confidence. The truth is that 50% of the aforementioned personalities are given at birth and the remanding 50% are gained via a myriad of mediums. Mainly, the non-inherent 50% is obtained through work ethic, education, a close observation of buyer psychology and industry experience.

Work Ethic:

In sales, work ethic does not solely consist of cold-calling, attending meetings, trying to up sell current clients or networking at ambiguous events. Don’t get me wrong, these are very important, but a good work ethic also means taking the time to keep up with current events, the economy, competition and industry trends. Knowledge attracts customers and paves the way for you to find something in common with the buyer other than just business.

Education:

Without a good education, it is very difficult to get a leg up in corporate sales. For instance, if you don’t have good writing skills, your emails are bound to lose deals. If you don’t speak with proper grammar, you’re more likely to lose credibility. To the good salesman, learning is a constant practice. Educating oneself on such things as accounting, marketing, management and economics is needed.

You will find that every piece of possessed knowledge will eventually come in handy and allow you to initiate and maintain meaningful conversations. A good sales professional makes sure they can intellectually adapt to any key audience. With the internet a click away, there is no excuse for not learning all that is possible.

The Observation of Buyer Tendencies:

Like a chameleon, a good sales representative is able to morph their sales approach in accordance with the customer. They observe the consumers’ body language, method of negotiation, personality and speech. It is simply ineffective to approach each customer in the same manner. Doctors are different than business executives who are different than lawyers. Each profession and person has their own quirks and preferences. If you are selling to a doctor, most likely you should not call the office more than twice a week. On the other hand, business executives want to see a strong commitment from the person whom they will be buying from as well as constant account service.

Ken Sundheim, President KAS Placement

The Profit That Sits In front of the CEO’s EYE

As an owner of sales placement firm, I have had the experience of working with a myriad of differing firms both in the U.S. and abroad. Naturally, I’ve seen firms grow, I’ve seen firms fail, I’ve seen revenue stagnation and employee turnover. What I have seen most and can now easily predict is a firm losing out to its competition. Overtime, I have come to firmly believe that if a CEO loses to a competitor for any reason other than a lack of funding (ie. Mom and Pop’s Inc. could have never beaten Microsoft’s Windows Platform) or is unable to innovate new exciting products to help their most important division – the sales team, they are above their pay grade. Thus, this person is not fit to be responsible for a company and its employees. I understand it sounds harsh. However, the same way a football team lives and dies by its quarterback, a company lives and dies by its CEO.

When you’re a good sales representative, you know what the market wants and recognize how to leverage the information you gather in order to raise earnings. There are many facets to a company. We have HR, IT, Accounting, Administrative, Management, Sales divisions, etc. Though, an effective CEO realizes that one smart, inventive and ambitious sales representative can easily impact the firm more than any employees in the aforementioned divisions.

Why do I believe that a small amount of good sales representatives can be more valuable than any other employee in the building? The explanation is quite simple: true sales women and men are the ones who go to battle everyday. While the accounting department sits at base camp, the sales representatives are out on the field. In fact, this same premise aided Abraham Lincoln in winning the Civil War. Instead of eating steak dinners 500 miles away from the war zone, he frequently visited and conversed with the common foot soldier. Lincoln knew that despite not having a multitude of medals dangling from their chest, they were the most informed. These men would be the first to know if the enemy had new weapons, how their moral was affecting their fighting as well as an abundance of other imperative information.

As a sales representative, you should be able to determine why or why not we are winning certain accounts. You should also be able to decipher what particular aspect of your product most intrigues the buyer. It is these factors and, of course, the ability to close that separate the great sales representatives from the Average Joe and Jane who will never see a $250,000+ year.

So, if a company has great salespeople who are able to do figure out these aspects, why sometimes does it die? Simply stated, the CEO does not take an active interest in the sales force therefore relinquishing any possibility of getting first hand knowledge of what the market needs. He or she fails to utilize this information to both improve the current product or service and formulate new products to introduce to the customer. If this is not done, the sales force is not helped and the business deteriorates in the same way a plant with no water does.

In all fairness to upper management, some salespeople just have excuse after excuse as to why they are failing. You can only assume that you are not the reason for failure if you truly have formulated a multitude of ways to beat the competition while keeping up with the new market trends and then obviously informing the CEO of your findings. If, as a sales person, you can use your every day dealings with your clients to not only sell, but better understand the market place, you are a priceless employee.

Let’s say we find ourselves in a non-progressive company. What do we do? It’s my belief that there are many ways to leave this situation, but there are two which tend to work the best. Option one is to find a smaller company in which we have direct access to a coherent CEO who wants to continually grow the firm’s revenue (not to mention, make your life as a sales representative easier).

Option two is to open our own business. Personally, I went this route. My experience was as follows: at age 21 (right after graduating from college), I started a position with a smaller software firm doing sales. Everyday, I saw myself and the other sales representative lose deals to competitors. I’ll never forget that when I attempted to tell the CEO of my discoveries, he shrugged my suggestions off, put his hands behind his head and reclined in his big leather chair which was adjacent to his pristine office windows. It was that moment that I knew this was not going to be a great company. Well, my prediction was a bullseye. The firm was eventually sold for next to nothing while our competitors continued to take the proper business and financial actions to help their sales people; it paid off. Though, I am exceedingly glad that I spent a few years there because I essentially learned how not to run a business.

Ken Sundheim, President KAS Placement

"What Makes a Good Sales Person?"

For prices on Sales Consulting please call KAS Placement's main number - 212.348.7670

Brevity in client conversations. In Hamlet, Shakespeare said it best: "Brevity is soul of wit." When marketing a particular product, a buyer will lose interest if the benefits of the solution are not expressed in a clear and concise manner. Psychologically, buyers usually have a lot on their minds (as they have their own jobs and goals too) and want to get to the point. Too much information or elaboration on a certain topic can put a sales person in a position where the client purposely avoids them due to their conversations' perceived length. If you want an example, call one of my family's pet sitters (name confidential).

Question and Benefit Selling. Either speaking in-person or over the phone, a good sales person asks the proper questions and uncovers the client's needs in a timely, friendly and professional manner. They also always write down the client's concerns in order to address them one by one. Knowing these requirements allows the sales representative to work with the buyer bit-by-bit to solve their problem via a tailored offering. In a meeting, it is the buyer, not the seller, who should control the situation.

Accessible Language with Supporting Evidence. In nearly any complex sale, a sales person will deal with all different types of decision makers within a company. This can range from that stereotypical reserved CFO to the boisterous VP of Sales. No matter who they are, they will all understand catch phrases such as 'hit it out of the ballpark' or 'we can give you a better price, however, as we all know, at that price, I feel that the resources we can allocate may be a swing and miss.' These are aspects of everyday life, and to bring them to the negotiation/sales table can put everyone on the same page.

Efficient phone technique. Nothing grabs the undivided attention of somebody purchasing a product better than a sales representative who speaks with a tone of voice that not only shows confidence in himself, but confidence in the product he or she is selling. Typically, I can tell a good salesperson within thirty seconds, due mainly to voice projection and confidence. Also, before a strong bond is formed with the client, intelligence and proper grammar are significant steps to becoming a respected part of that client's business day and decision making process. Most importantly, good phone technique follows the old proverb straight and to the point.

Next time you make a cold or warm-call try saying, "Mr. Smith, my name is Bob Salesman; I'm calling from ________ (maybe even add in what your company does). I do truly understand you are very busy, however could you give 30 seconds of your time? About a week ago, you came to my firm inquiring about x, y or z, and I'm hoping to set up a five minute phone conversation in the next few weeks to elaborate on our organization and better introduce myself." Ink in the appointment and, prior to that next phone call, refer to the "Question and Benefit Selling" part of the article.

Industry Contacts. In any industry, the easiest way to get in the door is to know the decision makers within your target market. These days, being able to sell to "C" level executives (the new Lexus of resume listings) is a skill in great demand. These contacts are formed over time through trust, careful relationship building and delivery of a product that the executive and her company perceive to be beneficial. The effective sales person realizes that these people are busy and that account manager must be on-call to see them whenever a free moment arises. If you want to know how to find out who these people are, websites such as Linkedin.com, Hoovers and Selectory.com can get you the right names. Now, with the right wit and an ability to get past the gate keeper (sales term for assistant), you can build your own black book of important contacts.

Friendliness and Professionalism. Good sales people represent their organization in a professional manner while reaping the benefits of establishing good relationships with their valuable client base. However, some of these aspects can backfire when making a sale or laying the groundwork for a "cross-sell" or future business. How can this go wrong? Occasionally, Account Representatives tend to have a very outgoing personality and can easily cross the bounds between a good working relationship and an outside friendship. The best friend tactic sometimes will work with occasional clients as they want to establish both a strong working and personal relationship with their sales representative. Other clients have their own interests and think of a sales person as only a minute (and possibly annoying) part of their work day. Unless the product and service is great, a professional faux pas can kiss just about any account goodbye.

Ken Sundheim, President KAS Placement