5 Unfortunate Assumptions Every Sales Rep Must Make

If you are in a good mood, you might want to skip this blog entry and go read Kelly Mallozzi’s. She usually writes about upbeat topics. I am about to bring you down, Skippy. This blog entry is about assumptions. Bad assumptions. Negative assumptions. Unfortunate assumptions.

...True assumptions.

The five things on this list aren’t “Maybes” or “They don’t apply to me!” items. They are Coor’s Light cold as the Rocky Mountains hard facts. So snap on your chin strap and face the truth.

1. Your clients are speaking to other vendors.—I promise you that while you are reading this blog, your competition is leaving voice mails for at least one of your accounts. As you ponder the potential truth of that last statement, another customer is having an informal get-to-know-you meeting with another printer. And while you are checking your Depends to see if you just imagined it or if you really did...you are being put out to bid. If your clients aren’t solid on the answer to the question, “Why do I buy from my current printer?” then you are in trouble.

2. Your boss asks him/herself daily: “Is my rep doing his/her job?”—It’s only natural, but every boss asks this question. You see, to them, an empty sales chair is a source of genuine frustration. They see it and think, “He could be prospecting, golfing, sleeping or eating donuts. It all looks the same to me.” Unless you tell them what you are up to, they will wonder and they will—and trust me on this one—wonder if you are doing your job.

3. Your clients don’t know everything you do.—In printing (or any sales job, actually), the six worst words to hear a customer say, are, “I didn’t know you did that!” Typically speaking, that phrase is followed by, “We just placed an order for that with someone else.” Never, ever EVER assume. Make it your job to educate clients every chance you can.