Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007 - (Page 7)

the Pitch FRESH IDEAS FOR SMART MANAGERS >> SALES STRATEGY 8 >> MARKETING STRATEGY 10 >> MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 12 >> MOTIVATION/INCENTIVES 14 >> TRAINING 15 >> TECHNOLOGY 16 Why Prospecting Gets No Respect Don’t Dismiss The Number One Selling Skill A ccording to Bill Truax, prospecting is the least used but most important skill in selling. It isn’t always the easiest or most enjoyable task to perform, but it’s the only technique that actually gets your sales reps in front of potential clients, allowing them to use all of their other skills to close a sale. “Companies spend thousands of dollars on programs to develop better selling skills , but virtually nothing on improving a rep’s ability to prospect successfully,” says Truax, president of Trufield Enterprises in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. “And prospecting is so critical to success.” Many reps shy away from prospecting because they aren’t trained to do it—and, of course, because it’s fraught with rejection. That’s why Truax says it’s important for sales managers to mandate a set number of required prospecting calls weekly. “If they have a lot of prospects, being rejected by a few isn’t that bad,” he says. “They know they have others they can call on to generate business.” Truax says “blitz”days or weeks, where lots and lots of prospecting calls are made, don’t work.“What happens is there is no time for follow-up afterward, and this creates the hills and valleys of selling,”he says.“The rep creates opportunities, but there’s no follow-through. He has too much to handle. “Plus, they need to stop prospecting to do all of the follow-up required, which causes the ‘valley’ in the sales cycle. That’s not healthy for your company. Here’s how sales managers can help reps prospect, according to Truax: 1. Learn a prospecting system. 2. Provide them with leads within their territories. 3. Determine how many prospect calls will be made each week to achieve sales goals. 4. Have a tracking form that verifies making that number of calls each week. 5. Have a follow-up system that’s timely and effective. Truax says this can done through an electronic contact management system such as Microsoft Outlook, or something as simple as 3x5 index cards with each account’s name. “One of the biggest ways a sales manager can help a rep is to oversee all aspects of selling—prospecting, follow-up, lead generation, presentation, and service work for the client,” Truax says. “You need all of those skills working in concert to have a successful sales experience.” (Editor’s note: Truax’s “Blitz Call Prospecting Kit,” a self-learning program for commercial/industrial field sales professionals, is available at www.blitzcall.com.) —Maureen Hrehocik OCTOBER 2007 SALES&MARKETING MANAGEMENT www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com 7 corbis http://www.blitzcall.com http://www.salesandmarketingmanagement.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007

Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007 Contents Editor’s Letter Management Strategies Why Prospecting Gets No Respect Sales Strategy: Spotlight your Services Marketing: A Social Intelligence Primer Management: Steer your Team to Success Motivation/Incentives: The No-Pain Way to Gain Training: Looking for Yesterday’s Learning or Tomorrow’s? Technology: Get Trade Show Satisfaction with the Video Massage Focusing on SMB Solutions The Best Sales Force The Hottest Job Industries Overseas Aggravation Gadgets & Gear: Pen and Ink as an Art Form Books that Improve Strategic Thinking, People Skills and Sales One Foot Out the Door Work/Life: Calling in the Fitness Cavalry. Take-Aways: Bite-size Strategies to Help You Sell More, Market Smarter and Manage Better

Sales & Marketing Management - October 2007

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