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Sales is a lot about organization…
By Charles Martin | August 3, 2009
… especially as it relates to your prospect.
I’ve been chasing sales all month pretty hard and the ones that didn’t stick really came down to organization. It’s silly that this one premise is a road block but it really is.
The calls I make as a cold-caller are always about trying to find the right time to “catch” the prospect in a place where they listen clearly and make time for me. But what I realize almost 90% of the time is that they don’t really know what time is good to discuss new options for a good financial product that usually saves time in processing and of course money. It’s because time is not a captive concept for these people.
They are scattered. They miss appointments with others. They go from one crisis to the next never really solving any certain one. Their stated schedules change each time we talk. Their people are scattered as the chaos rolls down the organization. If you are slotted in, you become one more crisis that is subject to delay. The “wow! I love what you are saying and I want your pricing to show to my boss asap” line is common. But the spike of greatness is followed by more muddled and missed phone calls that often last months.
The sales I did have were with people that were on the ball and were able to easily see how to consider my offer. I really disagree more and more with the “timing” mantra and look at how easily I will be heard from someone that doesn’t listen on a regular basis anyway.
I think a salesman’s job doesn’t have anything to do with trying to get his prospect organized. Priority is another term we all try to figure out and is related to this but if someone doesn’t prioritize ANYthing, then you’re just chasing your tail.
Good sales practices dictates that you offer your proposal in a format that is easy to read and concise and that your product or service should be something that really can improve your prospect’s overall business . But after that it’s a crap shoot.
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