Why barista training won’t work….(part 3)

Part 3 of: Barista training just won’t cut it…Why can’t the barista find new business?

Customers are less accessible than they were several years ago. In the past, salespeople could build relationships with the gatekeeper in their target accounts, knowing that these relationships would eventually get them in to see the decision-maker. When did it change so drastically? Well, electronic devices have since replaced most gatekeepers and you can’t build a relationship with a voice mail system. Other technological innovations such as e-mail, text messages, fax, Blackberry, cell phones, digital pagers, and the Internet have also given customers the freedom to execute their job functions away from their desks. While this is good in one sense, it also means that potential customers are less likely to pick up the telephone when you call.

Many prospects are reluctant to pick up the telephone anyway. With the rapid economic ‘depression’ in recent years, more vendor businesses are offering more solutions than ever before. Consequently, decision-makers are being inundated with a barrage of sales callers—who are all competing for the same thing—a chunk of the prospect’s budget, but even more importantly, a slice of their time and attention. Most salespeople are “woeful” at finding new business…remember, they are order takers.

Some sales organizations try to address this problem by encouraging their salespeople to be more aggressive. “If the going gets tough,” chants the proverbial sales manager, “then we, as salespeople, need to be even tougher.” The problem is, if the telephone rings tonight at my house during dinner, and a salesperson on the other end tries to be “more aggressive” with me, they will irreparably harm any chance they had of making a sale. People don’t want to be pushed.

Many of the marquis sales training courses currently being offered were developed fifteen to twenty years ago, if not earlier. But the business world has changed dramatically in the last twenty years…and in my opinion, many of the “old school” techniques no longer apply.

Most prospects already know the tricks—things like calling after hours to avoid the gatekeeper, or leaving voice-mail messages that say so-and-so told me to call. They also know about the Ben Franklin Close, Alternate Choice, and Feel-Felt-Found. That’s why so many salespeople and sales managers have become frustrated with traditional methods. Teaching salespeople to be just like everyone else puts them at a competitive disadvantage. When a salesperson is perceived “the same” as everyone else, then they are only average, by definition, and their chances of winning are significantly diminished. Prospects and customers usually don’t buy “average” products from an “average” salesperson.

So how do you get away from being 'just average' like 90% of the other salespeople?

ASK the right questions! Creating high impact questions takes extra time. But it’s worth every minute. Start investing sixty percent of your time doing research, forty percent of your time making calls. I know this contradicts traditional wisdom, but this isn’t a traditional selling environment.

Don’t pick up the phone or walk into the lobby until you’re absolutely ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue. You’re not going to get a second chance in a slowing economy, so make sure everyone counts!

......more to come......