My last article reviewed several ideas to help you refine your holiday season sales approach and become a little more buyer-friendly. Contrary to popular culture, business in sales and retail does not actually STOP between the holidays. True relationship building can occur during the December madness with any product or service.
First off, let me acknowledge that this month is NOT business as usual. I know this from personal experience. What I also know is that those who “come to the rescue”, “go the extra mile”, or simply make themselves available for those year-end urgencies, will win a place in the front of any corporate buyer’s mind.
Our mentors, “the seasoned sales staff”, will often tell us that December is for party lunches, holiday gifting, and vacations. Traditional, I get that. But in today’s economy those who remain accessible, and balance celebration with effectively getting things done are the pro group able to enjoy the first quarter of next year a little easier. Some proactive strategies may help with that balance.
- Know your customer’s business practice. Is the customer’s company on a calendar year or fiscal year? Are they likely to engage clean-up (panic) mode to gather outstanding RFP’s and get contracts signed? Be proactive. Find out all of this that you can ahead of time. If this is coming, have your part of the work in ready. If you have plans to be away, exchange your contact info or arrange for experienced coverage staff. Start asking questions early and gently to distill a picture the probable situation. A missed call can be a missed contract!
- Excavate your Notes. Read through your copious meeting notes (You know . . . the ones you have been jotting down all year!). Filter out ANY incomplete subjects, closeout items, open sales proposals, and action needed on any deliverables. Chronologically summarize these into a well organized spreadsheet for your primary buyers. They will be amazed at what you remembered, and quite possibly respond via payments and purchase orders dated before year end.
- Your word is your bond. Ok, I know, your signature is required too. The point is that it’s only a “rescue” if you can really make it happen. Part of this readiness exercise is preparing your own forces to handle your commitments. If Buyer Bob gets his P.O. approved for the 30,000 additional widgets on this year’s pricing schedule, GREAT. But, Bob will also need a sealed order confirmation and production date prior to going home on December 31st. Be ready, get it covered in advance, know who will be covering at your end to close the paperwork circle, and how to find them.
Now to be clear, I am not even remotely insinuating that those of us in sales have to be available 24/7, although many of our customers would like that. I am saying that selling is a profession. To maximize our success as professionals we need to plan. Learn the customer’s needs, predict what might be required, and make sure your company’s prepared response will be instant, complete, and fully professional. Oh . . . and profitable!
Then go ahead and celebrate!
Happy Holidays to you all!
K.B. Elliott is a Detroit area contributing writer for Nexxt. Having worked seats on both sides of the sales table for over 30 years gives unique perspective to the sales process and the varieties of successes to be had.
Ready for that next step up in professional Sales? Find your next position at http://www.salesheads.com/
Become a member to take advantage of more features, like commenting and voting.
Register or sign in today!