A few years back a friend and myself decided it would be a great idea to do a sprint triathlon. I figured I was in decent shape and could swim well. After all, once you finished the swim all you had to do was hop on a bike for a bit and then run a 5k. I have done 5k runs many times so I was not worried about the run and I bought a road bike so I could ride faster than a mountain bike. I did two swims in the water, road the bike a few times, and I didn’t need to run because, hey I could do it. I figured I had it all planned out to succeed and do well… figured I had it planned out enough…
The day came for the race and my friend and I were in the water ready to go. The starter sounded of the start of the race and we both jumped in with our awesome swim caps. About ten strokes into the swim I was out of gas. I looked up and saw that there were only two rescue boats and a long way to go. At that moment I knew I was in for a long day. I did every stroke I could and did the dead man’s float sometimes. Eventually I made it through the swim, did the bike, and then got into the run. Unfortunately, my legs cramped up and had to walk part of the run right towards the end. It didn’t work out for me and my friend crushed me finishing almost 10 minutes ahead of me.
The next year I trained and planned, and then trained some more. I kept checking my times and the numbers from the year prior. This resulted in me almost catching my friend.
These two items can be applied to sales. If we want to do well in sales, we need to have a plan and we need to work the plan. We can’t just show up and expect to for sales to just happen. We need to map out where we want the conversation to go and what areas will hit the customer’s needs. We need to review our notes about the customer and figure out what solutions we can address for them to meet their needs. One image that still is in the back of my mind when I am visiting with customers and training is that of handing a bill to the customer when I am leaving. Was the time spent with me worth the customer paying me for my time.
Would your customer say absolutely the time spent with you worth $200 for that hour meeting?
What kind of answers did the customer come away with that will equip them to function more profitably?
Is doing business with your organization that beneficial, or should your product be considered just a commodity with the only differentiator being price?
A plan is needed to make the sales call worth both parties investment of time and money. This is a new age and because of technology customers are more informed and need sales professionals to help them create the best path forward. What does your plan look like prior to meeting with your customer? What are your premeeting preparations that you do?
Create the plan, execute the plan, and have a back up plan if something happens that you didn’t expect. Be prepared. And if you do a triathlon, practice swimming, it could be the difference between life and death out there!
Sincerely,
Kevin Sidebottom