The Skills Behind Your Growth
Closing the gap between knowing and doing.
Most salespeople already know the fundamentals. The real work is turning that knowledge into consistent action in the field.
Research published by the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors found that distribution sellers compare relatively well in relationship building, while showing larger gaps in areas including new business development, reaching decision makers, selling value and following a defined sales process.
The skills I focus on with leaders, regional managers, and salespeople.
1. Staying Dialed In
Know your biases, assumptions, and patterns.
Recognize which ones are enabling and which are self-limiting.
2. Flexibility
Meet people where they are.
Be a resource customers want involved.
3. Curiosity
Find and connect the dots that most people never know exist.
4. Judgment
Understand the difference between high revenue and high profitability.
Let the milkman make the milk runs.
5. Expanding Wallet Share
Look for growth inside the accounts you’ve already earned.
No more waiting on requests for quotes, problems and phone calls.
6. Selling Value
Move beyond “Here's what we sell.”
Connect what you offer to what improves the customer’s business.
7. Shorten or Extend the Sales Cycle
Know when to push and when to let something lie.
8. Owning Your Work
Take ownership without personally becoming customer service for every issue.
Know what needs to happen, who is doing what, and when it will be done.
9. Prospecting
Identify the right targets.
Stay involved long enough for an opportunity to develop.
10. Industry Knowledge
Technique and scripts don’t replace real product and industry context.
Practicing What I Preach
I bring industry experience to the table, but I’m not coming in with a predetermined answer. I want to understand your business, your people and where you’re trying to go - then build the work around the opportunities we find.
Keeping it Simple
When I meet with salespeople one-on-one, at some point we will usually talk about these three things.
1 - Tell me about your proactive steps over the last couple weeks.
2 - What about putting out fires or doing work someone else could have done?
3 - Tell me about proactive new-business opportunities you pitched or uncovered.
4 - What worked or didn’t work? What will you do different?
That’s it. No reports. No Big Brother.
I’m not asking people to track every hour or spend valuable time filling out another report. The questions simply keep proactive selling front of mind and give us something to work with.