When I was a rookie salesperson working in a district sales office, we had half cubicles as workstations, meaning that we were back to back with another talking head. Listening in on someone else’s conversation was completely unavoidable.
It could also be the source of some great sales memories...
Most shocking sales approach:
"Yes, could you tell him that I'm calling from the landscaping company and need to know if he wants the manure dumped on his front lawn or his back lawn."
Honorable mention:
"Yes, could you tell them please that it's Trooper Daniels from the Rhode Island State police department."
(Both lines were actually used and caused every sales rep around him to shoot straight up out of their chairs in disbelief. Also, both lines resulted in the prospect picking up the phone.)
Sales managers, company presidents, and shop owners should be doing some sales eavesdropping as well. Listen to how your sales rep sounds on the phone and, most importantly, hear how she/he describes her/his company. Who does she/he think you are?
If you have multiple salespeople, a good sales meeting exercise is to have everyone write down their answer to the question, “How do you describe our company to prospects?” It is very likely that five different salespeople will take five different directions.
There should be one. Listen in to make sure.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Bill Farquharson is a respected industry expert and highly sought after speaker known for his energetic and entertaining presentations. Bill engages his audiences with wit and wisdom earned as a 40-year print sales veteran while teaching new ideas for solving classic sales challenges. Email him at bill@salesvault.pro or call (781) 934-7036. Bill’s two books, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever and Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How? as well as information on his new subscription-based website, The Sales Vault, are available at salesvault.pro.