Casual Sales (or Always Selling)

Why is it that sales come so easily to some, while for others each little order is like giving birth? My guess is that those who seem constantly to be opening new accounts have their sales antenna out. Check out this e-mail I received a few weeks back to see what I mean...

Hi, Bill. I am really enjoying your Sales Challenge program. Thanks for reminding me how much fun the sales game can be.

I stopped at the local sports bar Friday (after work) to catch some NCAA tourney games and met the general manager of the establishment. We talked about the road contstruction (sic) surrounding his building and the challenges he is facing with access and parking concerns. I asked about his marketing and event planning and what problems he was encountering (not once mentioning printing).

The conversation turned towards what I do and what my company could do to help him. Now I have an opportunity to meet with his event planner who is also meeting with Amazon’s event coordinator, as well as the marketing and event planner for the local ESPN radio affiliate, both of which I have been trying to get a foot in the door with. The end result is a meeting with all three at the same time!

This is what I mean. Here is a guy who saw an opportunity while having a beer and ended up blowing it up into a HUGE opportunity. I wasn’t there, but I’ll bet the conversation went something like this….

Rep: “I have to tell you, I love coming in to this place. You’ve done a great job!”

GM: “Thanks. We’ve made some changes recently.”

Rep: “Parking still seems to be a problem, huh?”

GM: “Yeah, we can’t figure that out. Bit of a hassle all around.”