The choice to be in sales is a weird and wonderful career elective. You jump into a profession that is often criticized, beat down by people who don’t want to meet you, and faced with more rejection than the high school outcasts. Yet you still jump in with both feet. Most that get into the profession do so with the express intent to better their lifestyle. That may be in terms of earning more money, more free time, more personal connections. Whatever your intent, typically, you want to improve.
So, with that in mind, you go forth into the wide world of sales with the best of intentions and full of vim and vigor. You are going to “kick butt”, “set the world on fire” and all those good things. Besides everyone tells you “sales is the thing for you”.
You start to learn the sales game and get good results in bringing in orders as you have figured out how to do the obvious sales steps of prospecting, contacting, needs assessments, solutions and closing. And then you hit a plateau. You struggle with getting to the top. For every client you win, you have one fall off on the back end.
Soon you start to look at what is happening and you realize that although you are happy every time you close a deal, that enthusiasm is not met in kind with the rest of the team, the members who have to fulfill the promises you made while out in the field. And you start to hit some conflict with “those” people and they start to call you “one of those – a sales person”.
“Why don’t they care about the orders I bring in? Why don’t they get just as excited as I am? What is wrong with them?”
Often sales and service hit conflict because they are indeed different types of individuals who cannot naturally see eye to eye. And remember, every time you bring in an order, it is more work for them. But that shouldn’t stop a great sales professional. Look at it as just another client you get to sell to.
The best sale you can make is to those people delivering the sales and service for what you are out flogging. Get them on your side, let them know you have their back every time and that you are out promoting them for the great job they do and not yourself for how good you are and you can really win.
The best and most respected sales people learn this early on. Check your ego at the door, learn that your best clients are often your service/product delivery team, and both you and your company will thrive and win.
Written By: Bill Leesman