It’s A New Year: 2010 Will Be A Year Of New Focuses And Beginnings
The economy sucks, there's a bunch of ignorant boobs in Washington, DC, the Federal deficit is stupendous and higher taxes are looming . . . doesn’t sound like 2010 will be a good year, does it? Take heart, the economy will get better, an awakening public will vent their collective spleen on Congress and the Executive Branch forcing them to do something about deficits and taxes . . . and selling professionals will advance us towards a “pre-boom” economy.
Efficiency and increased productivity will be the mark of successful businesses in this coming year. Sales executives who have survived the recent economic downturn have learned that they must better at every aspect of their job in order to capitalize on the opportunities that 2010 brings (yes, there are opportunities for new business). The areas where they know they must focus are:
- Sales Lead Generation – Technology has helped to gather the leads, but they must be made use of. One of the best ways is to outsource the sales lead qualification and appointment setting. This frees the salesmen to concentrate on closing new business instead of spending much of their time prospecting.
- Customer Service – It has been estimated that forty-five percent of all client interaction involves a customer service situation. Customer service in an oxymoron in many companies, but good customer interaction is critical to maintaining the customer base.
- Screen, Hiring and Training Salesmen – Locating and hiring good sales people is a major problem for sales managers, one that can take up a lot of their time. The use of an HR professional search firm might be a good idea to consider.
- Sales Preparation – The internet is a great tool from which a salesman can learn more about his customer, the competition and the marketplace.
- Provide Value to Customers – Selling pros must use their knowledge to provide something of value to their clients, something they can use to be more innovative, imaginative and competitive.
- Sales Training – The sales process should be taught in the field. The days of event training for eight hours a day, five days a week, are long gone. There just isn’t enough time for that, besides, it never worked that well. The individual salesperson must be responsible for acquiring the knowledge of sales techniques, while the company provides the specific product knowledge. Many companies now opt for entry to their sales departments to begin with entry-level positions in support roles, like sales coordination and customer service.
In summary, the company whose sales manager has learned to run “lean and mean” during the past couple of years, will have a definite edge in 2010. The age of “anyone can sell” is long gone and selling credentials must be earned by the individual salesman. Companies can be much more efficient, effective and cost conscious by outsourcing to specialists.
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