Salespeople, like any other group, can generally be divided into three categories.
The first (by far the most valuable) are your “superstars.”
With these people, you just want to get out of their way and do a "brain drain" to try to find ways to help spread their magic to the rest of your team.
The next level is "average" players: this is an amazingly diverse group—some who can turn into "superstars" and others who will never rise above the level they are at now (and in fact, may sink a bit).
Often, people in this category who have been in sales for 20 years actually only have one year of experience (they've just repeated it 20 times).
Finally, there are the low performers. This group is incredibly costly and detrimental to your company's sales efforts. This is the group that will say things like: "Our customers only care about the lowest possible price."
As a CEO or Chief Commercial Officer: how often do you hear this?
I recently heard a sales representative say this, and shortly after, the Commercial Director asked what we should do about it, since some of his sales team were getting crushed, and they were all saying the exact same thing... that they constantly needed more PDFs and marketing materials for their sales processes.
I then "suggested" that he go ahead with that action and additionally "fire them and replace them with a printed catalog. After all, if that's really all your customers care about, then you don't need a sales force.
Send a catalog to your customers, email a few PDFs, add a couple of new pricing pages to your website, and that's it. Let someone answer the phones and take all the orders."
The Director laughed, assuming I was joking. But I didn't laugh... and I wasn't entirely joking.
This may have sounded a bit harsh, but that was not my intention.
I was asking the question to prove a simple point.
In the case of this specific client, the distinction had already been made by the colleagues of the salesperson who responded that way—colleagues who were happily selling, beating aggressive quotas, and generating massive revenue for the company.
We often talk a lot about the importance of having a corporately shared playbook that helps identify the most common things your customers will say, and to work out not only the best response(s), but also to understand what the customer is actually telling us.
For example, we all know that when someone walks into a retail store, there is a time-honored script that plays out between floor employees and the customer. It goes like this:
“Can I help you with anything today?”
«No, I'm just looking, thanks!»
“Alright, I'm here if you need me!”
This is a very poor script, but it's easy to fall into, and some of the largest companies on the planet still follow it. Retailers see major gains when they change the script; it not only gets customers thinking differently, but it also opens up new opportunities to help them find what they truly want.
A fictional example:
“Welcome to Correias! Is this your first time shopping here?”
«No, I've been here dozens of times.»
«Oh, that's great. Then you'll remember that our revenue-generating consulting services are on the left side of the store, charm and good looks are near the back, and our tool and process workshops are on the right. Which of those interests you most today?”
In sales, we often hear things like: “Sharpen your pencil and give me your best price.” Or they tell us: “That's not in the budget.” Or: «I can get it cheaper elsewhere.»
If this were literally true, then you wouldn't need a salesperson; you'd just need a $3 catalog and a few more PDFs. If your sales staff (replace this equally with store associates, customer service reps, etc.) is not ready to answer these objections, then maybe they are really just "overpriced" brochures.
The challenge for this week:
Ask your sales director or marketing director/manager to write down the top 3 to 5 objections or concerns they usually hear from customers.
Ask your customer service staff and sales teams how they would respond or handle each of those situations. If you find that everyone says something different, then there are two things you know to be true.
1) There is no consistent answer coming from your company's representatives (which is terrifying!). Remember, consistency and congruence IS a critical aspect of customer experience.
2) We should talk about how I can help you with that!
As an extra challenge, ask your sales staff (without them knowing each other's answers) to individually write down the top three objectives/objections they are hearing. If you see any overlap, then as a leader, you know the work you need to do and the kind of support/training you need to offer your teams.
Good luck!,
Alejandro.