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rTosr oF us were raised on work hard. IYIBut pushing a button that doesn't produce is frustrating. It can kill a salesperson or an organization. Below are three areas to work on that will produce sales results.

Account Management

No matter our skill level as a salesperson, we are not going to squeeze an A+ sales life out of a B- account box. Working hard, calling the same accounts more often, will not bring better results.

Some sellers hang on to C- accounts because "they aren't that much work." The problem with this strategy is that we wake up one day with a whole account box of Crelationships. C- accounts cloud our vision and time much more than we realize. They keep us from developing more B+ and A+ relationships.

Our accounts must be viewed as a whole. We don't just look at our top three accounts and say, "I'm a master seller. A, B and C love me and do a lot of business with me, so I must be great." This analysis is a false friend that creates false confidence and results.

Take our revenue for the last 12 months. Divide that number by our total number of business relationships (all customers and suppliers). Divide by 12. That will give us the total value of each of our relationships-the value they bring to us and the value we bring to them on a monthly basis. Master sellers do not waste time on C- relationships.

Rapport Building

Popeye the cartoon sailor says, "I y'am what I y'am and that's all that I y'aml" I call this the Popeye Syndrome. We are not a cartoon. We do not have the luxury of just "being ourselves." We must work on our "personal charisma." We must work hard at being charming.

About 95Vo of the time in B-to-B sales, the customer knows as much or more than we do, so:

. Slow down on the product knowledge and get to know the customer.

Be charming.

Smile-master sellers do and most sellers don't! I am shocked at the number of salespeople who do not "whistle while they work." No one wants to jump off a cliff with you, so cheer up.

. Listen. Ask interested and interesting follow-up questions.

Laugh at people's jokes. Joke.

. Ask about their hometown.

. Ask about their kids. Give a darn in general.

. Read How to Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Charm is learnable, Popeye!

Bold ls Gold

Master sellers are bold. Timid sellers do not sell. The common misconception is that bold is loud or pushy. This is not the case.

Bold expects an answer. Our first moment of truth with our potential account is the first time they side-step one of our questions. I call it a "non-answer answer."

Seller: How much of that do you use per month?

Potential customeri We use a fair amount'

Most sellers let this go. This is a mistake. This communicates to the customer that it is okay not to answer our questions, and it is not okay.If we let customers off the hook on the simple questions, we train them to side-step us, and they will, right up to the moment they give the order to someone else. When a customer obfuscates on even the simplest questions, we must work hard, circle back, and ask our question again. We can do it in a nice way, but we must do it.

Bold is assumptive. Master sellers work hard at speaking and carrying themselves as if they expect others to buy from them. Do they lose business? Yes. But their demeanor does not change in the face of rejection. They also go into the next call assuming they will sell. This is the "virtuous cycle" of the bold seller that stops slumps and builds momentum.

Bold is forthright. Just ask for the order already! I have worked with sellers who have doubled their sales in less than a year without changing anything, except asking for the order!

Our time, our energy, and our focus are finite. We cannot waste them on deadends. Working hard at account management, rapport building, and being a bit bolder will help us achieve our sales goals.

James Olsen

Sales Training

By Wayne Rivers