I started in sales 20 years ago at the beginning of 1996. I am blessed and grateful for a career I wasn’t even sure about when I started. I would recommend it to everyone, but the truth is that only a few will be successful just like the success rate among small businesses. One of the main reasons is that the sales representative doesn’t understand the power behind setting a goal.
The Small Business Administration, in its informative frequently asked questions on small businesses, provides this answer on the survival rate of new businesses:
“About half of all new establishments survive five years or more and about one-third survive 10 years or more. As one would expect, the probability of survival increases with a firm’s age. Survival rates have changed little over time.”
I might argue that survival rates can change with successful sales people as the nature of sales has changed from managing current customers to new sales development. I have always thought that selling doesn’t start until your prospect says “No.” Be careful hiring someone with multiple P-clubs in the past as they may have been handed a goldmine customer base and just had to manage the incoming sales. Mike Weinberg, in his book New Sales Simplified, suggests you change the title of those individuals from sales representative to customer service representative. I am not saying that a portion of success comes from maintaining your territory, but like any business, the growth comes from obtaining new customers. I evaluate a sales person by the percentage of new business they have obtained each year. A “Going Out of Business Sales Strategy” is when you only manage your current customers while the margins decline each year because they demand a better price and you oblige. A suggestion I have shared with struggling businesses is to change the sales compensation plan to reward new business at a higher rate than existing business.
I have worked with several sales organizations and I currently work with several sales organizations. I thought I should share some of the wisdom, insight, and best practices I have obtained over time. I will start by sharing with sales representatives that
“Their territory is their business and they should run it that way.”
Score provides a small business plan template. I will make reference to this from time to time in this post series.
What is one of the first things a business should establish? They should definitely decide on their product. As a sales representative, you don’t have to do this. A business should establish their mission and vision and this article in Inc Magazine provides a nice description that translates a vision and mission to goals and strategy. As a sales representative, I would suggest you start with a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based) goal.
“If you can dream it, you can do it” – Walt Disney
There is a quick series of three five-minutes videos of Zig Ziglar speaking to an audience about goal setting. He is funny and a great story teller.
Start today by setting a goal for your year. Put it in the comments section and I will advise you on whether it is a SMART goal. In an article in Forbes Magazine, it speaks to only 8% of people achieving their New Year’s resolutions. I will next write about creating a plan to achieve your goal.
“A goal without a plan, is just a wish”
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