One thing that I have recognized while visiting and training other groups of sales representatives is that successful salespeople tend to have a great proficiency in dealing with either people, places or things. Some successful reps know everybody in the industry and excel at recounting stories about how they golfed in a monsoon with even the most obscure individual. Others know everything about their market – current pricing trends, factors impacting their business, or how many pounds of product a myriad of cities imported in March of 1998. Still others are experts in their thing. These individuals can tell you the mechanical properties of their widget and can delineate the optimal circumstances under which their product performs at its best. Having an expertise within just one of these arenas provides these individuals with a competitive advantage. When they make a sales call, they can concentrate on their expertise and come away looking like a more informed individual than the last visitor. After all, without competitive advantages, an individual or an organization will be lost.
Within the corporate world, there are basically four main competitive advantages upon which organizations seek to excel – cost, delivery, flexibility, and quality. If an organization is producing widgets, they will destroy their competition if they offer the least expensive product (while optimizing margins), maintain 100% delivery reliability, and concurrently manufacture a high quality product with the most product options / features available in the market. If a company has even one of these competitive advantages, it can survive. With more than one, it can become a market leader. Of course it is critical that companies focus on competitive advantages that are desired by their customer base. If an organization produces a high quality product with all of the bells and whistles in a very short period of time, even though the market demands a simple inexpensive product, that organization will have a tough time trying to convince their target base to spend the extra money for something they don’t need. Similarly, if you are the type of sales representative who knows everyone in the industry, yet you don’t understand the advantages that your product has over it’s competitive counterpart, your customer may enjoy talking about who’s who but may ultimately be unfulfilled by your visit.
Since all customers are different, it is best to develop all three personal competitive advantages (people, places, things) so you bring a full package to the table. If you consider that you spend approximately half of your waking hours on the job
Many sales representatives have a difficult time assessing how much and which information they can freely share with their customer base. Customers love sales reps who can bring something new to the table. It is one thing to tell them exciting news about changes within your own organization, but it is something juicier when you have information regarding their competitors. Although sharing this type of information may place you in some customers’ good graces, it can be a double edged sword. For one, they may be less willing to confide in you if they identify you as one who likes to feed the rumor mill. Secondly, if your customer shares some private information with another party and it gets back to your original source, you can quickly find yourself in deep trouble. If a customer every confides in you and gives you some big information that they do not want getting out into the market, you are obliged to keep it a secret until they tell you otherwise. However, if it is news that can significantly impact your own company’s dealings with that customer, it may be necessary that the news is passed along internally, provided that you preface it by mentioning that the information is confidential. If your customer does not ask you to keep information in confidence (and it is not implied that you are going to keep the news secret), you have a gift that should be put to use. For example, if one of your customers lets you know that they have just hired a new sales manager,
- Keep current with moves by your competition, within your organization, and within the industry
- Be prepared to discuss factors that impact your industry
The most frequent complement that I receive from my customers is that when I arrive for a business meeting, I talk business. Although it is critical that you develop an understanding of your customer’s interests, background, and objectives, it is even more important that you add value with your visits. In today’s work environment, businesses have downsized to the point that most of their employees fulfill more than one function. If a customer feels that you are simply wasting his or her time, you may not get another opportunity to walk through their door. It is highly advisable that you subscribe to and READ trade journals that are particular to your organization. Although these magazines are often times left to build up on your coffee table at home, I would encourage you to take them with you during your travels. You never know when you may have a free moment prior to a call or waiting for a plane when you can improve your understanding of your market or industry. As we discussed earlier, it is important that you are fully prepared when you visit your customer base. Not only is a game plan established in advance to set your particular goals and objectives for each specific call, but you also need to be prepared to answer any questions that your customer may have. One of the most embarrassing situations a sales representative can run into is when a customer asks about changes that have taken place within that rep’s company, and the rep had no idea that those changes were implemented. One recommendation for staying in tune is to maintain daily contact with an informed internal member of your organization that is in the office each day. If there are any announcements, adjustments, or rumors, you should also make sure you are in the know and are prepared to discuss those issues if one of your customers brings it up, providing it is acceptable information to share with the public.