Common Sense Business Tips for Sales Professionals

You cannot manage time
So much has been written about time management that you hardly have the time to read about it. There are numerous time management programs, processes, and tools. However, you cannot manage time, no matter how hard you try.

 There are 24 hours in a day and they are ticking away, second by second, minute by minute, as you read this. You cannot save the hours or store them up. And when they are gone, they are gone! Never to be recovered. Never to be recycled and reused.

 You cannot manage time, but you can manage your activities, what you do in the time you have. To successfully manage your activities, you only need to know two things: What to do first and what to do next.

To identify what to do, create a two-sided daily or weekly to do list. Label one side “Must Do” and the other side “Should Do.” On the must-do side, list all the things that are imperative. Tasks that must be completed. Things that are directly tied to your goals and responsibilities. On the should-do side, list all the tasks that should be done because they are important. Review each list and prioritize the items. Next, plan carefully and assign each task and the amount of time for completion.

 Start with the must-do list. Begin with the highest priority item and do it now (today), without exception. When the time for that activity is up, stop, and move on to the next activity. If you continue to work beyond the predetermined time limit, you are stealing valuable time from the next task. If that project suffers because of insufficient time, you’ll soon be in debt to countless hours of time that will never come. When you complete the must do items, you can move on to the should-do items.

As time goes on, some of the things on the past should do list will transfer to the must do list, but you will evaluate them and make that decision, rather than leaving it to chance or the pressure of unorganized time. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Finish each day and be done with it…. Tomorrow is a new day.”

Get out of the slow lane
Like most sales professionals, you are probably concerned about how the economy will affect your business. You’re wondering how you’ll survive. Your survival instincts may be telling you to look for ways to conserve; to hang on to what you have and weather the storm. It may seem like the correct thing to do. But it’s not. When the economy is slowing down, you need to speed it up!

If the economic pie is getting smaller, you need to get a bigger piece just to maintain your current position. And, that won’t happen unless you pick up the pace, and do more. You need to be more visible, more credible, and more valuable to your clients and prospective clients. What can you do? Here are some suggestions:

Pick up the phone: With a slowing economy, it’s no time to be shy. Make prospecting calls. Beef up your prospecting plan. Contact former clients who have dropped off the radar. People out there need your products and services. Find them before your competitors do.

Be of service: Forget about making “sales calls” to existing clients. Instead, schedule “strategy sessions” to help them explore opportunities to grow their businesses. Being “of service” will not only cement the relationship, but it will also make your client more comfortable and more likely to introduce you to others who would appreciate the same level of service.

Network: Show up at social and business functions ready to talk about your business and how you are helping your clients grow despite the current economic conditions. Adjust your “30-second commercial” to reflect the current economic condition.

Get the message out: Speak at chambers of commerce, professional associations, and service organizations. Talks and presentations have proven to be effective low-cost or no-cost marketing tools. They increase your visibility and credibility.

Have you figured it out yet? What you need to do in a “bad” economy are the very same things you need to do in a “good” economy. But, you need to do them more skillfully and more frequently. Don’t let a slow economy slow you down.

Silence is golden  — And it can ruin your business

Here today — gone tomorrow
Have you ever had customers drift away in silence? They did less and less business with you and then, without warning, they stopped doing business altogether. They didn’t complain. They didn’t raise a fuss. They didn’t make demands. They didn’t do anything — they just stopped buying from you.

Customers have a tipping point

There are customers who, experiencing a problem, become very vocal very quickly. They do make a fuss and they do make demands. And, they let you know exactly what it will take to retain their business. Be grateful for them. At least you know there is a problem and you have an opportunity to fix it.

But, there are other customers who become unhappy, bit by bit and over a long time. They appear to put up with problems or inconveniences until suddenly they are no longer buying from you. If they do say anything, it’s at the very last moment and then, if it’s at all possible to hold on to any part of the business, it will take a mammoth effort.

It’s a fact of life
Most companies lose customers over time. And so will you. Accept it. But, you do have some control over how many customers leave and how quickly.

Don’t wait for customers to complain.

Get your customers to complain
Part of your job is to find ways to uncover complaints before your customers reach their tipping point. Conduct quarterly performance reviews with your customers, asking them about your performance. Provide customer-satisfaction surveys. Make sure your customers know whom to contact at your company if they have a problem. When you provide your customers with channels through which to voice their concerns and complaints, you obtain valuable feedback for fixing existing problems and heading off future issues. And, your customers are much less likely to drift away in silence.

Trust is built on three elements: credibility, accessibility, and reliability.
Trust is obviously an essential element for obtaining a client and keeping that customer. When you ignore trust, you will lose a client.

So, what is “trust” and how do you develop it with prospects and preserve it when they become clients?

Credibility, whether we are talking about prospects or clients, refers to conveying a message that is relevant and demonstrates your understanding of the recipient’s situation. Today’s technology — websites, blogs, email, white papers, social media, webcasts, webinars, and online meetings — has made it easier than ever to get your message in front of a targeted audience. Wasting their time with information that doesn’t help them solve problems or further goals will do little to build trust and can erode the trust that has been established.

You must get your credible message in front of prospects, provide information for prospects when requested, and answer questions or resolve problems for clients as they occur. If they cannot “trust” that you’ll be there when they need you, then they won’t trust you. And, they won’t become clients or stay clients of your business.

Reliability, the third element of trust, is an essential ingredient for any relationship. If you make a commitment to a prospect or client, you must keep it. No excuses. Prospects and clients won’t trust you until they can rely on you to follow up and follow through as promised.

Whether we are talking about prospects and clients, or friends, family and colleagues, trust is an essential ingredient. When present, it can cement a relationship and when absent, cause it to crumble.

Sandler Training is a global training organization of more than 500 Sandler trainers located in major cities throughout the United States and more than 29 countries. Sandler Training Syracuse, led by Rick Olszewski, is located at 241 W. Fayette St. Contact him at (315) 451-8797 or email: rick.o@sandler.com