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Reader adviceApril 7, 2008 Just got off of the phone with a sales coaching client. Here was her story:Her boss sat her down and challenged her to achieve an extraordinary level of sales activity: 2-3 new appointments a DAY! Yikes! She called me to ask how that could be done. The first thing I did was to verify the request. Was that REALLY what her boss said? After receiving the big 10-4 on that one, I gave her three pieces of advice. After reading mine, why not pipe in with some of your own. Here's the Reader's Digest: 1. Do more—There is no way around it, the rep has got to work harder in order to achieve that level of greatness. Arriving earlier, staying later, and cancelling plans to watch the Masters this weekend will work for starters. The single most important factor in sales success is diligence. So, my friend, do more! 2. Do better—Whatever he is already doing now, she needs to improve its quality. That is, she needs to refine her target market and her message. Simply throwing sales against the wall to see what sticks is the wrong approach. Generally speaking, the best way to improve the quality is to be prepared through good research. This will help him to do better. 3. Do different—Ok, that's bad English, but if it worked for Apple ("Think Different") why not me? After all, I do own a Mac. Actually, five, but...My point is: The rep is prospecting in a linear fashion. What else could she do? Two half days of cold calling? Calling on old/dead accounts? Selling a vertical market? What she does, she could do different. Okay, gentle readers, let's see what kind of sales coaches you make. What would you tell this overwhelmed rep? Posted by Bill Farquharson on April 7, 2008 | Comments (6)               
April 9, 2008
In response to: Reader advice printersales7007 commented: Easy enough to walk down the street, knock on doors and get 2-3 new appointments, belly to belly with new accounts done in the morning.
April 9, 2008
In response to: Reader advice Bob Ruzicka commented: Database Marketing techniques can be a great help to the sales exec that needs more appointments. Database Marketing starts with acquiring a list of names in the target market via association lists, trade journal lists or other similar sources and then developing a series of "touches" or contacts to drive the prospect/suspect to call the sales exec to find out more.
April 9, 2008
In response to: Reader advice John commented: WRONG!!!! This is totally wrong since you never had the rep ask the boss exactly what it is he wants. More appointments means what? How about defining the appointment- who does the company want to sell to. Does the lack of appointments also indicate a lack of sales? The rep may not be able to perform a market analysis on her own- and your response appears trite and old school.
April 9, 2008
In response to: Reader advice Gina Danner, CEO Mail Print commented: FOCUS -- By focusing your effort on a single vertical, a single geographic location, a single service, or a single message you are able to be more efficient with your prospecting effort and DISQUALIFY prospects faster. You are also able to make your message stick more clearly. To often in the print industry we try to be all things to all people when in reality there is one thing, maybe two things, any shop does exceptionally well. Find that sweet spot and FOCUS on that sweet spot.
April 11, 2008
In response to: Reader advice Mark commented: Bill
April 11, 2008
In response to: Reader advice Bill Farquharson commented: Yes! I believe that the best place to look is the Wall Street Journal, in print or online. It has stories every day of dozens of hot and cold markets.
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