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Life of a salesman
Highlights
A busy manager was persistently bothered by salesmen trying to see him as he arrived. He kept on avoiding them. This went on for twelve days continuously (2 weeks). On the 13th day, he allowed one of them to meet him.
A busy manager was persistently bothered by salesmen trying to see him as he arrived. He kept on avoiding them. This went on for twelve days continuously (2 weeks). On the 13th day, he allowed one of them to meet him.
He told the lucky salesman “You are a lucky man! I had refused to see as many as 12 salesmen before you.” The salesman replied “I know sir, I was those 12 salesmen”. The salesman has been calling on the customer continuously for two weeks. He was rejected but kept on trying. Persistence is one quality that all sales people should have in abundance.
Many of my students avoid selling as a career as it involves travelling, meeting people and trying to sell products and services. Even most sales professionals do not like sales as a career. If products can sell by themselves there is no need for salesmen! No need for a salesman to sell an I-Phone-6, people buy it at their own sweet will. Sales people should thank their stars that people do not buy products unless they are nudged.
Given below are three major concepts that can shape a salesman’s career. These are important as many people simply think that a gatekeeper in sales means a security person at the main gate. Nothing can be farther than true!
Gatekeeper is the person to watch out for: Secretary, personal assistant, office manager, receptionist, etc. Call them by any name they all do the same function. Regulate the flow of information and visitors to the decision-maker in the organisation.
It is their responsibility to see that the decision maker is unfettered and free to concentrate on his/her work and to make sure the decision maker's valuable time isn't taken up by needless interruptions. Gatekeepers are a necessary evil in everyday business.
Getting past the gatekeeper can be challenging but not impossible. First the salesman must pre-qualify the information that he already has regarding the decision-maker (name, title).
Ask the gatekeeper "Who is the person handling the insurance matters for the company?” or “Who is in charge of the procurement of specific services/products (insurance, graphics, printing)?” The person who answers the phone will probably be able to tell the salesman who the decision-maker is even if they don't allow the salesman to speak with him/her.
So let's say for example that a salesman is calling Mr Ravi Sharma at Ratan Body Shop. But instead of getting Ravi, he gets his assistant. His assistant's job like any good assistant is to monitor which calls require Ravi's immediate attention and which will require making a phone call at a later date.
Here is an example of what a conversation might sound like.
Salesman: Hello, is Mr Ravi in?
Gatekeeper: Who is this?
Salesman: This is Paramjit Singh calling for ALL-IN Insurance Services. I'm trying to reach the person in charge of accepting proposals for the employee insurance policies for the company. I was told that it was Mr Ravi.
Gatekeeper: Yes, Mr Ravi is the person who handles the insurance but he is tied up right now, can I take a message?
Salesman: Can I make an appointment at a later date?
Gatekeeper: Yes, you can meet Mr Ravi at 10:00 hours on next Friday.
Salesman: Sure I will. Thank you.
There are some points worth considering here for the salesman.
First, always try to get the gatekeeper on your side. You don't get anywhere by making an enemy out of the person who probably has as much information about the company as the owner/Managing Director himself.
Second, be straight forward with the Gatekeeper. If you are coy or evasive with him/her, the assistant will pick on it. You want this person to be on your side so be direct and simply tell him/her the purpose of the call.
Third always ask for the decision-makers e-mail ID. That way you could leave a message for the boss
(decision-maker).
Next, be sure to send some information to the decision-maker which helps to ensure that they know who you are and what you can do for them. If you still haven't received a return phone call from the prospect then you may send another e-mail to catch his attention.
If you can’t get the e-mail of the prospect from the gatekeeper then be sure to go online to the company's website. There may be a link to the person's e-mail.
Gatekeeper is very crucial in the sales process. He/she might be that person who might be able to swing the deal for the salesman. They can be the salesman’s eyes and ears in the customers’ organisation. They can provide him with valuable information about the company’s buying process and about the salesman’s competitors and their quotes and sales negotiations.
All that the gatekeeper expects is courtesy and respect. Appreciation for the help or a small gift from the company might help too!
A good salesman is as good as his last sale: One adage that is frequently used by many sales professionals. A sales person is as good as his last sale. A salesman can’t rest on his laurels. The euphoria of the current sale gets evaporated as soon as it is submitted in the office.
The race earnestly starts for the next sale. The sales person always has to be on his toes. Most salesmen do not consider a single sale as a high point. It is the total sale that matters. That is the target achievement in a month or a quarter is more important than a single sale.
The prima donnas’ of a single glorified sale are long gone. Most companies resort to systems selling. A system selling is that where a team of sales people are responsible for servicing a client. A system selling also eliminates the need to have a daily high (daily high being getting an order).
In the glorified single person –single order regimes the pressure of getting a sale was so high that sales representatives would be forced to get a sale by hook or crook.
In systems selling, getting a sale is only a process not an end in itself. Lot of focus is on lost orders. Lost orders are identified, tracked and reasons for losing an order are analysed so that orders are not lost in the future.
Systems selling also emphasizes that getting an order is not as important as seeing that the sale is transacted well. The item has to be delivered, installed, and the user has to get the total satisfaction of possessing and using the product.
A salesman is always submissive:
Sales career is the toughest among all careers. Salesmen are seen as parasites and are frankly, barely tolerated. One can’t really blame the sales representatives. In many cases they sell or market products that are not purchased willingly.
Sales representatives thus acquire the guile and ability to play the underdog – always. They appear to be the most submissive of all the people. But that is just a front. A salesman hears about his targets early in the morning. The not so polite boss minces no words in letting the salesman know that getting the target is sacrosanct.
On the road the salesman has to grin and bear with the heavy traffic. He does not want to lose his temper, lest it affects his ‘getting into the zone’ (the psyching up or getting prepared for the sales pitch).At the prospect’s office, the salesman has to deal with the tough security, go through the drill, bear with getting his things examined and get a visitors pass.
Then starts the waiting at the reception, the salesman can’t show his impatience. There are prying eyes always watching and ready to report. Getting past the determined and tough gatekeepers (the secretaries) is an art in itself.
Once inside, the salesman has to play his cards well. The prospect behaves like a know-all. The prospect preens about his knowledge and stops the salesman dead on his tracks. The salesman has to bear with interruptions, sudden objections and many colleagues of the prospect joining in the discussion and dragging it in many other directions.
The salesman is not sure of the sale till it happens. The prospect argues on all items including the price, the guarantee, the delivery period and the payment process. The training of the salesman comes into the fore at this juncture. He very carefully and subtly gets his work done that is getting the order.
But his travails are not yet over. He has to play the submissive role at his dealer’s office too. The dealer/distributor has many reasons not to generate the sale that is expected but comes out with demands of early delivery of the material and late payments. The sales person has to be wary of not rustling the ruffled feelings of the dealer/distributor. So he cajoles and wheedles his way through the dealer and sees that his work is transacted satisfactorily.
Back at the office, the boss is not very happy. He is not satisfied with the quantum of discount that the salesman had offered. He complains about the delivery date and lack of advance payment. He grudgingly accepts the order as if he is favouring the salesman. The concerned data entry operator who has to key in the order also plays his role. He shouts at the salesman on his late arrival. He makes snide comments about salesmen who can’t manage their time.
Tired and worn out the salesman returns to his home. He takes off his shoes and whistles at his dog. This is the moment that the salesman was waiting for. He talks to his dog in a confident and dominant way. The dog listens carefully and dutifully wags its tail. The salesman’s day has ended happily. Finally, here was somebody that the salesman could dominate.
By:Dr M Anil Ramesh
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