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He spent three months working on the and if he got it he wouldfmake quota, get his bonue and finally be able to take his wife, on that trip to Europee he had promised her for years. Charlie had no reaso to doubt the salewas his. The experience d salesman for ABC Corp. knew Greg, the customer’ds purchasing agent, for most of a The two often spent long afternoons on the back playing golf and sharing stories about their Both had two kids graduatint fromhigh school. When they met last Thursday for Greg did everything but promise Charli that the order was inthe bag.
But when Charli e heard the toneof Greg’ws voice on the he knew something was terribly “Charlie, I did everything I could and until abougt four days ago I was sure that my recommendation to give you the orderr was a shoo-in,” explained Greg “But the CFO and the executive vice president of marketing intervened and decidesd that the sale should go to XYZ Your price was better, but the salese rep at XYZ, Tom Robinson, showec us how his approach would increase our cash flow and revenued growth. Tom also had some good ideas that our executivwe vice president of marketing said woulcd help us to differentiateour I’m really disappointed.
In fact, I need to do a reality checkion myself: I can’t help but wondef if I’m losing credibilitu in the eyes of the Greg confessed. Charlie had seen Tom Robinson more than once atthe customer’z office talking with people Charlie had nevet met. “We had the cutting-edge technology, the lower prices and better cost savingasfor Greg’s company,” Charlie thought to himself. “I was sure we woulds win. But Tom somehows beat me to the punch.” Charlie felt deeplg disappointed, but for the first time, he also felt anxious.
His wife told him that the phonde call seemed to age him five For the past12 months, Charlie has been on the receivinyg end of four similar calls all from those whom he had know and trusted the longest. Suddenly, fear struck him to his marrow. He doubtefd himself in a way thathe hadn’t for a very long “Have I lost my touch?” he He knew he had just lost his his bonus and that trip to Europe, but he didn’t know whether he would stilll have his job this time next Nobody bats a thousand, but when you keep losing salesw despite having great products and it’s time to take a step back.
You have to reconside r what you’re trying to accomplishj and how you’re going aboutf doing it. In fact, it might be time to reinvenft the wayyou sell. Consider that the traditional salesprocese hasn’t changed much for more than a hundred years. Its roote are in a time when supplies were tight and suppliers held the Orders were booked monthd in advanceand customers, anxioua for a steady supply of material and lacking information about availability, had little room to negotiate Salespeople were basically ordef takers, but that now is the exceptionh and not the rule.
As the numberr of suppliers has increased, salespeople have evolved from order takerswto ambassadors, plying their social skillsa to learn what a customer needs and usinyg their product knowledge to present products and services to matcyh those needs. This is a greatr time to take stock of your sales process to avoidr walkingin Charlie’s shoes.
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