I have been reading a book titled How To Sell When Nobody’s Buying by Dave Lakhani. Dave has some very good points throughout the book. In an interview with Dan Schwabel on his blog, Dave asks the following question:
“How has selling changed in the last two years?“
The following is an excerpt from the interview regarding this question (emphasis is mine):
“Selling changed dramatically and no one told the salespeople. Most salespeople are still slogging along using the same old ideologies and techniques from the 80’s and 90’s that are based on ideas from the 60’s and 70’s. The result is a bunch of very frustrated salespeople and managers who are not making their numbers. Then, along comes an economic downturn and wholesale destruction of many industries and salespeople don’t know what to do or where to turn. What really changed was buyer mentality and buyer psychology. Consumers and prospects are overwhelmed with choices, markets commoditize faster than ever now and virtually all of them are over-communicated.”
Come on Dave. No one told the salespeople? I am not sure which salespeople you are referencing but I don’t buy it. Salespeople already know this. They knew it before all the smart people started writing about it. The sensed it five years ago or more.
If your income depends on successfully selling a product or service, you know when changes are occurring. Communication with our customers changes. Decisions are being made by different people within the customer’s organization and the time frames begin to shift. Expectations in frequency, responsiveness and attention are all in flux. If you are in sales, you either know about these changes early on, or you are not selling much longer.
Successful SalesMakers don’t need to be told that selling has changed! They are the first ones to know it .
What do you think? Do you need to have someone tell you that selling has changed?
8 responses so far ↓
Kevin Colegrove // 06/30/2009 at 11:55 am |
Every generation brings with it change. If you and the way your company sells doesn’t accept and go with the trends of each new generation, you will become extinct. Welcome Generation “Y”. I’m not going to spend any time describing this generation, but if you want to understand them fully visit http://www.jasondorsey.com or read his book “My Reality Check Bounced”. It’s on my must read list for anyone who wants to understand how this new generation thinks, how they operate and what they expect. Once you understand them you will be much more effective at selling to them. Here is a link to the entire article http://insidesalessaas.blogspot.com/2009/06/how-generation-y-killed-cold-calling.html
Christian // 06/30/2009 at 12:21 am |
All excellent points.
My question to all readers is –
“Are we saying that contacting clients via telephone, direct mail, letter or email is no longer effective?”
Is there still room for direct, personal contact in the modern world?
Christian
http://mysalesmentor.blogspot.com
Matt Tibble // 06/24/2009 at 4:57 pm |
Having just read this post from a link from LinkedIn, I think it shows that communication is definitely moving more into the realms of social technology. However, something I have always found to be true in selling (both as a seller and buyer) is that people do business with people. Without the presence of someone somewhere in the process to answer the questions that almost always fall outside the square, and to listen to the prospect, money doesn’t change hands.
My thoughts are that effective sales reps know this and need not worry about the shifting climates of buyers and technology. If anything, listening more, adding value to the prospect through education and building trust I believe wins the day.
If these are ideals from 40 years ago, then I will stick with them.
trish bertuzzi // 06/24/2009 at 4:07 am |
Miles, quite a number of salespeople today were born in the 60’s/70’s so I doubt that they are using methodologies developed then. The “olden” days should now be considered 2007 because that is when the real tide began to turn and reps began to understand they needed to help buyers buy instead of just selling.
IMHO, the problem lies not with the reps themselves but with the strategy developed by their sales and marketing organizations who “can’t afford” to invest in new methodologies and technologies that accomodate this change. To them I say, reallocate resources and invest in change – the bus is leaving the station and you want to be on it.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith // 06/24/2009 at 3:22 am |
From sea level (where you cannot see the forests from the trees), I believe the majority of sales people do not know that selling has changed. Sales or product based marketing is still used by far to0 many salespeople instead of education based marketing.
Yes, truly successful sales professionals know that selling has changed. These folks are in the minority given sales research suggests 20% of sales force delivers 80% of the results.
Another indicator from my perspective is sales training is the number one request I receive within my practice. What I have observed is the inability to understand how to build authentic relationships, maintain relationships (CRM), recognize we are in a global marketplace and the lack of knowledge.
There are far too many gray suits and very few Red Jackets.
Scott Anderson // 06/23/2009 at 9:31 pm |
Miles-
I can pick either side with this discussion. I agree with Bill & Fred that many successful SR’s have already adopted the social media opportunities; but then again I come from a fortune 50 company that doesn’t have a clue when it comes to the power of these networks. Frankly speaking they are scared to death that they’ll loose control of their CRM data and thus won’t venture in to the new world of social media. My best guess is that we have 20% of the folks enlightened and the other 80% in the void…unaware and afraid to move forward. Just my opinion.
Regards,
Scott
bill // 06/23/2009 at 2:21 pm |
Successful sales people are on top of their game and do (should) know this. But really, what % of the sales reps out there fall into this category?
I for one, are in current observation of (and working in) a small company that have, by most standards, “successful” salespeople who are owners, managers of the business. They’re anchored by how things were done back in 1999-2003 but seem reluctant to evolve into new sales techniques and methodologies. The current struggle is embracing whether or not we need a CRM in house or not.
“I don’t get it, why are salesreps always complaining about not having a CRM? We didn’t have a CRM when we were salesrep and we made our numbers.” says one of the owners.
My response was just to remember our dad and grandads could say the same thing about the mobile phone and the computer.
Therefore, I relate to what Lakhani is saying here. Technology is evolving so fast that it’s also changing buying behaviors.. .and I would have to say the greater majority reps don’t realize it until they have the “house fall on them” or lose a monumental deal.
Fred // 06/23/2009 at 1:33 pm |
I couldn’t agree with you more Miles. Successful sales professionals are on top of their game and seldom, if ever, need a house to fall on them. Lakhani’s comments are more appropriate for those buried under houses or otherwise retired. I must admit that I’m not familiar with Lakhani. Is it possible his comments are academic naiveté or does he have significant real world sales credentials?