Managing your own Sales, by managing your prospects.......

Somehow what the level you are at, if you are into a business – you have to be a Sales man. Its like a MD or CEO of an organization is on the topmost position & control almost all divisions related to business, but he is mainly focusing their brain around the Sales, Marketing & CS. Similarly a Sales Manager could be sitting on a national level position with an eagle eye view to the country doing lot of S&M, service etc jobs but his main domain is to get the business done, I mean on “targets”. They all are the part of the “accountable business cycle”. Rather I say we all are into it, if not into a business of Sales, but may be for selling yourself as a “smart” product. Why so….?  Its just because you are social? Nnaaa…, Its because, Sales is the only way to get & increase your business revenues or to enhance your personal PR.  However in this of my article I am purely focusing on “Product Sales Prospecting” as a Sales guy. 



 

To sell something, a sales expert have to be in hand with prospects. Or in other words, prospecting is the key for a business. More the prospects, better the sales.

It may start from Hard core Cold Calling for a Business Development guy or may be getting free, easy references for an experienced sales expert. The prospects are generally known as Leads or buyers etc etc. and there are ways to tap these Leads or prospects. A good sales guy will always act upon these. one of the fundamental processe you need to review is your lead management program. Prospect leads can originate in a variety of ways, and there is often only a very loose structure in place to manage and react to those leads. Your sales pipeline and your ability to hit revenue targets all begin with good lead management system. In the today’s scenario prospecting is the biggest challenge to a business.

 It’s the basic to get the bread.  Little of wrong move by an organization or a Sales guy, and the customer moves away. And believe me, you’ll never know – why? 

That’s why selling yourself is known as an art. Toyota or Nissan are the best of Auto products in the market, but still the sales prospects are getting missed. Hindustan Unilever is the best FMCG brand, still they several time came across competition threat. Reason? The prospect did not “like” something. And that “something” is his / her present need at that time.  

So, from a company perspective its important to have a set process of Prospecting & Prospect need Analysis (Strategy), an effective Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool & method to track the Source & the prospect movement stage. The CRM should be equipped enough to distribute the leads quickly to the front force & the Sales Staff should be trained enough to “excite” the prospect or the lead. 

Stating above, I also strongly feel that a company runs not on “rules” but on “man”, the Sales Man (he or she). The Sales Prospecting Strategies & tools will become null & void, if a Sales Man do not do it properly. So the better prospecting is not only done thru the Marketing process & CRM tools, but by the Sales person himself too. Rather he / She does it better once he owns it. A great Sales person should be Passionate for his Sales; Driven for getting the prospects for closing “by all means”; Confident of his abilities & rolling out required Sales numbers; Relationship Maker for long time business relationship & better identifying customer’s needs; Focused well & can track customer thru required Competitor data if need negotiated; and Structured, to lead the customer thru his Companies right sales processes. Of course, the basics like “well dressed” & “language” knowledge for better communications are the basics.  In any given product scenario, the Sales man should be clear of his area of operation, the prospect base / segment, the follow up process & lead time to close the sales.  And to keep Sales Men’s passion & motivation, the FLS (Front Line Supervisors) are responsible. Generally the FLSs are the First level managers, managing a Branch or an Area. They are the second level Sales Force, those job is to smell the leads within the Team & force or support the frontliners to close it easily. As the time passes, the passion & focus get lacked in a sales person. Reason is simple, a Sales Rep now need growth. Growth in terms of money, in terms of position or in terms of other remuneration package from the organization (Have you not felt that the Starters are the best go getter, filled with passion). Had you felt that your business is dipping….., this is the only reason – Its time for action, its time to motivate the front liners.  This the FLS job to hand hold Sales person to provide them support at this stage & show them the right way to earn better. This is the time for FLS to work direct with him for better Prospecting & support Sales person to fetch bigger Targets. A money earned, can only be the money saved. Its time to maximize Incentives. Isn’t it? 

Its also equally important the Sales Person or FLS to stay away from the bad or Killing restraints –

Ø  Slow Passion & Drive; believe me as a sales man, you will do everything but results will not follow. Actually at this stage sales man thinks that he is doing best “possible”, but actually the prospecting means used were very limited. The Positive thoughts filled with actions are the only way to go ahead. FLS play here a vital role, as this is the time to tighten the process & to reward, recognize or improve (punish ??) the sales person.

Ø  Resistance to Change; Its easier thinking that the boss only gives “lecture”, let him play on the floor. I understand that Its tough to change, but do what your Senior says - I bet, you will see better results. Believe you me, he has already undergone your stage long back.  Here FLS plays a strong role as a mediator between the sales person & the management. His job here to excite the sales man about the prospect. And lower down the resistance in Sales person’s mind by giving ease thru processes.

Ø  Not getting or Undermining references; References are the back bone of any sales process, & the world’s best sales person have always used it as a best sales tool. If a Sales person stops getting references or take the reference granted, it’s a killing graph start for him. FLS to pitch in & engage the sales person in various customer dining or Testimonial activities with Customers, to gain the sales person’s confidence back. Relationship making is an art, and its not only benefit Sales person’s business  but sometimes to him too, personally.

Ø  Mismanaging Data Bases; Data bases are the key sources either for prospecting, references or any activity plan. Generally the less structures or passionate sales person will either not maintain it properly or will get it half cooked. Think if improper but thousands of data is available with you, what you will do with it. Its like having a customer full name details but with no contact. FLS role here is to get the passion back thru his direct involvement and provide the better training on database management & its utilization. Once the Sales person understand that what wonder he can do it with his own database, he will start using it for better prospecting & for measuring his own job.

 

Mega Tip: First, Pre-load yourself with the right prospects database, every month – For Visiting them, Tele-Calling them or Outing with them in an Event. And the Second - the easiest way is “getting Referrals”. Your customers are the first step in prospecting sales leads. Most people think they already know who their customers are, but many companies tell us they find a few surprises when they do an analysis of their customer base. Second, many a time you as a Sales Man do not know as whether your prospect has bought another product & why? So confirm what you know about your customers. Then, once you know who your customers are, define a few key attributes about them – Be in touch & get more information on follow-up calls. This could be external attributes such as geography, his Work place, liking of product color, type, company size; or internal attributes such as product change variety, credit type and services type. Now you can use the profile of your best customers to better define and acquire new prospects – something we know as Testimonials. To learn more on Sales, prospecting & Business, one can also go thru following links although net is full of information :

 

A Sales guy (Sales man to Head – Sales) can read more on Sales & marketing processes http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226255  (Entrepreneur is a blog which throws articles on various Business fields – This article which I liked much is on Sales Rejection. I feel we should not get demoralized with rejection, but learn, be persistent & prepare again to act)

A Sales guy (Sales man to Head – Sales) can read more on FLS working at http://www.kumarks.com/2012/09/the-secret-key-to-profits-in-automotive.html (K S Kumar is the Ex MD at Suhail Bahwan Automotive, Oman. He has given a clear role of FLS in his blog)

How to become a better Sales Man - http://www.success.com/articles/638--key-qualities-of-a-great-salesperson (Success, is the Magazine which shares ideas & stories of successful people)

http://www.writemoneyinc.com

Being the Sales as substance inside, above article came afresh. All the best……………………Mp / pathaksaheb10@gmail.com