Do You Suck?
by: Gene De Libero | June 30, 2009 | No Comments
With all of the craziness in our world today, it’s easy to get caught up in the negative hype and let it affect our performance. I draw a half-hearted chuckle from audiences when I say, “…the reason you’re not closing sales isn’t because the economy is in the crapper…it’s because you suck.” Yes, I know, that’s a pretty broad statement, but I think it rings true in many instances, whether its applied to one person or a team of hundreds.
Let’s face it – someone is selling to the client you’re calling on. The client is making a buy somewhere and has budget to do something. Besides, any salesperson knows that humans buy what they want, not what they need.
Increase your chances of success by following these steps:
- Know your client’s business. Amazing, but true. You actually need to spend a little time researching your client’s business before you pick up the phone, send an e-mail or show up for a meeting. Trust me, you don’t want to be that gal or guy sitting across from an exec with a look of panic when she asks, “Bob, tell me what you know about our business.” Not being prepared is a great way to end a meeting (and/or a relationship) prematurely.
- Know what keeps your client up at night. We all need to deliver, whether its for our own bottom line, to fulfill some goofy ‘management by objective’ quota or any number of very valid reasons. That said, we all face challenges we want to overcome, some tougher than others. Find out what’s keeping your client up at night and figure out a way to fix it (hopefully, with your product or service.)
- Manage expectations. Make sure you clearly identify and can articulate what the client expects you to deliver and what you expect from the client. No ambiguity here – it needs to be crystal clear.
- Establish responsibilities. In order to meet those expectations, both parties will have specific responsibilities. Get them written down and agreed to, again, with no ambiguity. It’s very tough to achieve success (or measure results) if you haven’t established ground rules, including who will do what and when.
- Give/Get Feedback. This is probably the most common cause of failure in business, projects, relationships – you name it. You have to communicate. Once expectations have been established and responsibilities identified and agreed to, you need to communicate progress (or lack thereof.) Once feedback has been provided and evaluated, you go right back to re-establishing expectations and responsibilities once again, with the end result more often than not being a very satisfied client.
Follow the steps above, communicate effectively and often, and I promise you most definitely will not suck.
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