Richard's Review

Sales

The average sales person doesn’t like admin. Like oil and water they don’t mix very well. The average sales person will write their weekly sales report on Friday afternoon just before it is due, get the CRM system up to date only when they are asked, make up the call report sheet to keep the sales manager happy and calculate their strike rate from memory, if they bother with that at all. The average sales person doesn’t like admin. Unfortunately the results from the average sales person are… well… average.

Some years ago I saw a cartoon on an office wall with the title “The job isn’t finished until the paperwork is done”. I am sure you have probably seen something similar. Actually in sales it is different. “The job isn’t started until the paper work is done”. Without the admin we are shooting in the dark. Okay we may hit something from time to time but we will miss more than we hit.

The best sales people in the world understand that admin is the lifeblood of the sale, and the best sales people produce the best results. But we are not just talking about accurate invoicing here.

Sales

A sales leader is truly a rare breed of salesperson. A sales leader is respected by customers, friends, and colleagues. A sales leader is effective, not because he has a lot of money (although he often has) and not because he closes a lot of sales (although he often does). The real sales leader is effective because he is able to achieve great results by being open and honest, trustworthy and dependable, reliable and committed to his customers above all else.

Sales

I have just put down the telephone after another unskilled, low paid, unenthusiastic telesales person has tried to sell me something by reading a poorly designed “script” at me. It is such a pity to waste sales opportunities in this way and this article is all about how to revive the telesales call.