Colleen’s Blog

As you know, one of the best ways to learn is by making mistakes. Another (and much more preferable) way to learn is by learning from the mistakes of others. There are some great sales lessons to be learned in what NOT to do if you ever want to be a successful leader. I want to share with you an experience I had with a start up company a few years ago. Pay close attention to this leader’s mistakes, and make adjustments if you feel as though your approach is even remotely similar. At the time of our interaction, the company was less than six months old. They had hired a marketing rep who was then transferred to sales because the team leader felt she was good at building rapport. Another sales rep was hired shortly after, and at the time, no sales had been made. Here are a few of the expectations that the leader had set for the reps:

Did you just do a double take? Stop trying to close sales...isn't that counter-productive to our sales success? You heard me right. Salespeople should not be attempting to “close” sales with clients. It’s all in the definition. Closing is something you do to a person. While it may be just a term, the language is completely one-sided. It implies that you are going entirely for the win regardless of what’s right for the customer. Salespeople who approach prospects with this kind of self benefiting mentality are almost never successful in their long term endeavors. Depending on their abilities and experience, they may in fact convince the prospect to do business with them, but long term, mutually beneficial relationships are rarely ever fostered. This breed of selling creates the "pushy" and "aggressive" stigma that clouds our entire industry. It puts everyone, including well-wishing, value focused salespeople at a clear disadvantage with prospects. Do your fellow salespeople a great service and avoid ever approaching a prospect with only your own interests in mind. Sales closing techniques that have amusing terms or names are often methods that you should not be using. For example:

What puts a smile on your face and reminds you of how much you enjoy the field you’re in? For me, it’s reassurance from my readers and clients. The feeling you get when you realize you’re making an impact on people is indescribable. Here’s a quick message I received in regards to a meeting request: “Yes, let’s meet face to face for sure!  I might even ask for your autograph since, with how much I watch your amazing videos – you’re kinda like a sales training celebrity/hero to me” Receiving messages like this is nothing short of an honor. When you’re doing what you love, and sharing it with the masses, receiving positive reinforcement (even when you don’t request any) is inevitable. ← Click To Tweet

Do you ever feel as though you're not doing quite enough for your client? You've delivered everything that you promised to deliver, and the client seems to be happy with the services and products you have provided them. Still, you just can't shake this feeling that not enough is being offered to them by you and your team. It's quite a natural feeling. In a world where client retention is such an important metric in the success of your business, it's completely normal to feel a little bit uneasy about where you stand with your clients. Even if they haven't been given any reason to feel on edge, many sales leaders and business owners struggle with the possibility that they may not be providing enough value for their clients. Is there a solution? Of course there is!

I received this cold email on Saturday from a “National Accounts Executive”
How many mistakes can you spot?