Sales: The Ultimate Art Form

April 27, 2009
They listen, advise, assist and resolve issues for customers. They aren’t selling per say, they are serving your customers

There are so many things that need to be addressed if you are driving today’s reseller business–recruiting new talent, finding the time and the resources to train your current and new staff–staying ahead of your competitors and basically knowing who’s the right sales person to develop leads and close business.

No matter what size your organization is it all boils down to sales, sales and more sales…and then managing the money developed or tracking the lack there of it and why. There is no organic growth unless “sales” is making something happen.

Yes, it costs money to have good sales resources and this creates a never-ending struggle for management. How much is a sales person worth based on your cost of operations? Are your operating costs too high or is your sales person ineffective? What should you expect in return for your investment and in what time frame? How many hunters and how many farmers do you need and should the hunter be farming or just hunting? Can you move a customer safely from the hunter to the farmer and if yes, how or when?

A good sales person is a good sales person. They do well in good times (okay, even some bad sales people do well in good times) but they do well in tough times, under pressure or when the cards are stacked against them–that is if you give them enough support.

They can engage people, open doors, break down resistance and get people talking to them in nonthreatening ways. They listen, advise, assist and resolve issues for customers. They aren’t selling per say, they are serving your customers. And you’re getting the return on this.

Sales is all about trust and trust is earned. And it is earned by lending support, understanding the issues and solving problems. Customers are always looking for good support whether you’re hunting for new business or taking care of the farm. It takes time and hard work to earn trust. There is simply no shortcut to earning trust, getting the sale and keeping it. Trust is not simply transferred to someone else when you change sales people.

What sales is not about is showing up and spewing what someone thinks is important to a customer or simply taking an order for XYZ goods.

Sales is an art form–it has a psychology to it. It doesn’t consist of a prescribed formula or a certain widget or fancy box. A good salesperson isn’t driven by their quota–they are simply always doing the very best they can for their customers.

Finding good salespeople is as artistic as the sale itself and a daily challenge for many companies in this industry and most industries in America. Good sales people are not a dime a dozen–if you have good salespeople hold on tightly to them. Add sales support in to help them grow. Sprinkle it with incentives and reward them well and you will get your money back in spades because trust grows the more you spread it.

Carol Enman

Publisher