Sales Whining Now an Epidemic

Sales whining is at an all-time high. The CDC in Atlanta has put it on the “Watch” list as complaining by salespeople (particularly in the print industry) nears epidemic proportions. But fear not, GAM readers, as this national crisis has caught the attention of your SalesCall correspondent, an action plan is being implemented. Through awareness, education, training and the obligatory golf tournament (hey, we need a fundraiser, right?), I believe that we can stamp out sales whining in our lifetime. First, let's cover the symptoms to help you identify potential outbreaks in your area. If your sales rep utters any of the following phrases, he or she might be suffering from an acute case of sales whining:

Prices “Prices are ridiculous out there. I've never seen them so bad. People are giving jobs away. Boss, I could compete if I had better pricing.”

Screw Ups “My production department just screws up the orders that I bring in. Why bother trying for any new business?”

No Call Backs “I can't get around voice mail. No one is calling me back. My introductory letters go out and I don't hear from anyone.”

Workload “I have way too much work to do to also prospect.”

Redundancy “The prospect says, 'We already have a printer,' and I don't know what to say.”

No Buyers “No one is buying printing. I know because I call and ask if they have anything I can quote on, and they all say no.”

Disloyal “I don't understand it. They've always bought from me, but this time they switched vendors for a few dollars less. Go figure.”

So many of the problems salespeople squabble about are within their control to avoid or cure. The days of automatic repeat orders are long, long gone. Sorry to be the one to tell you this, Bunky, but you are only as good as the last job you shipped. Your dog might be loyal to you, but your customers aren't. (And by the way, I question your dog's loyalty as well.)

As for prices, yeah, they sure do suck. Clients are shopping for the lowest cost. Can you imagine? Honestly, the best thing salespeople can do is, well, to do their jobs! That is, make sure you are giving the client a reason to place the reorder with your company. If you are not continually working for the client, you deserve to lose the work. Let me say that again, so there is no misunderstanding: The job does not end when the delivery is made. It is simply another stage in the process. Is there a pricing challenge to be overcome? There sure is. Is it worse than ever before? Maybe. My question is: Are you working for reorders by challenging every sales assumption and coming up with a new solution?

And what about those voice-mail messages? Are you saying anything of any value that is worthy of a return phone call? Are you being creative in your approach? Are you controlling the things that are within your control?

This is a tough industry facing some tough times. You certainly can whine the day away and be perfectly self-justified in your own mind. Prices are indeed brutal out there and the definition of the loyal customer has absolutely changed. Change with it or perish. Adapt or disappear. You certainly will not be missed.