Sales and marketing -- Information

A well-screened playlist is music to salesperson's ears

by Dirk Beveridge

In this age of information overload, salespeople, like iPods, have become the vast dumping grounds for random content. But unlike an iPod, deleting noise from a sales system takes more than a simple click.

Salespeople can become quickly overburdened with cold leads, lackluster lists, and dubious databases all provided in good spirit to support the search for the perfect prospect. Trouble is, how can you quickly separate the noise from the noteworthy? How can you find prospect interested in a strategic partner, not a product sourcer?

The answer lies in applying a deep screen when qualifying leads, suspects, and other opportunities, before they consume precious time and energy.

Now more than ever, salespeople need to be diligent about what type of opportunities deserve to enter the playlist. “We chase everything,” is not the motto for a profitable sales machine. As the sales bell curve warns, the most unprofitable accounts typically are those that demand the most time from you and your company.

Sales pros, frankly, do not share the iPod’s virtually endless capacity. Chasing bad deals wastes everyone’s time and energy. The sooner you can delete the misfits from your playlist, the faster you can close your next profitable deal.

What every salesperson needs is a rigorous prospect profile that guides the qualification process. So how do you size up leads and find the right type of businesses to upload into the system?

Begin by engaging a most critical eye and ear. Ask yourself tough questions. Can you leverage your company’s greatest strengths to win this deal? Would the account be profitable, and does it have the potential to drive other deals? What characteristics might mirror satisfied clients and past wins? Simply saying, “It has a good beat” just doesn’t cut it.

The Personal Prospect Screen
Most companies use high-level screens like company size, location, burning need, and allocated budget. As in music, that only determines the genre. Your personal filter must go significantly deeper. The world’s top producing salespeople don’t rely solely on formal qualification systems. They develop their own profiles that incorporate a more scientific alignment with the business and the depth of the potential partnership.

To help you enrich your prospect screening system, consider using the following filters to increase your odds of being among the top performers in your business.

• Is the product a fit?
Certainly the most obvious filter, but many times the most abused. Product fit only works when you weigh opportunities against your existing product line. Focus only on what you offer today. Tailor a solution that will provide the fastest gratification and return-on-investment for you and your customer.

• Are they a value-added buyer?
What can you learn about the suspect’s buying history and suspected need? Do they usually buy opportunistically, basing decisions solely on price? Are they sensitive to quality and service? What do they look for in a partner? These insights will ensure your firm can be positioned as a provider of solutions, not merely products.

• Can you penetrate deeply to gain easy access to decision-makers and future need opportunities?

As you follow-up on your opportunities, do you find it easy to reach decision-makers? Are they responsive or standoffish? Do you feel there’s an opportunity to truly penetrate the account a few levels deep? If direct access is a virtual impossibility, move on. This is the biggest “closed for business” sign. You’ll likely never be able to gain the credibility you need to be viewed as a strategic partner. If you are able to establish access and credibility, the next step is determining whether it’s worth the effort in the long run by understanding whether the buyer would support or champion your services. Get a read on the “what’s in it for them” factor.

• What does your intuition say?
Think about the prospect’s personality, values, styles, personal interests, areas of special experience or expertise and years of business. Have you been able to relate with them in a very real way? Make sure you have personal reasons for wanting to take on the prospect. Do you truly want to help them meet their needs and will the account help you meet yours?

• What is the ability to leverage this account for greater gain?
If you are successful in converting the prospect, will it open the door to other opportunities down the road? Could you leverage that success into other successes? Could it lead to business from another company? Take a deep look into the firm’s partnerships and ecosystem. If you admire their clients, they are likely a solid candidate on this level.

• Can you relate to the need on a personal level?
There’s a simple rule to selling: people before products. From your initial contact, have you been able to properly position yourself and your company as more than products? When you reach the buyer, ensure every conversation is centered on the customer’s needs and your possible solutions rather than the merit of your products.

Now that you’ve fine-tuned your prospect screening system, you can enjoy a more rewarding playlist of high-opportunity candidates. You’ll listen only to your favorites and you’ll likely find yourself singing a brighter tune. That said, all that’s left is to ensure your batteries are well charged so you’ll have enough energy at the end of the year to fully enjoy the rewards of success.

Dirk Beveridge is president and chief executive officer of 4th Generation Systems, a sales, marketing, and leadership development firm that helps distributors and manufacturers become more competitive and provide deeper value to customers. Dirk is an experienced business executive who has helped strengthen the sales and marketing strategies of leading firms such as Time Warner, IBM, Andersen Windows, Avaya and Berlin Packaging. For more than 20 years, he has worked with over 3,000 firms as a leadership and sales management consultant, trainer and speaker.