Have you ever been asked how much are you worth? Maybe not directly but it is my opinion that in a strange sort of way your clients are asking you to prove your worth on every sales call and presentation that you make. I think most salespeople would say “I am worth a lot…I deserve to get paid $50 an hour for my services!” Oh yeah….WHY?
I think I can hear some stuttering and stammering from most of you right now saying what do you mean, why? I ask this follow up question because you had better be able to answer this and articulate the reasons to your customers or else your message is falling on deaf ears. Because you say your services are worth more than the competition is not good enough in my book.
What do you bring to the table that is of value to your customers and prospects? Can you answer this question? What separates you from the others that call on your buyers? There has to be some reasons. If you are not 100 % sure of the answers you may have a chat with some of your best customers, ones that you feel very comfortable with, and ask them to help you. Please be careful here as if you pose the question in the wrong manner it could cause trouble.
For example if you said…”you know I was thinking the other day and I realized that I have no idea why you buy from me…why do you use me for your promotional products?’
A better approach might be to say to them, “I consider you to be one of my most valuable customers and I value your opinion immensely. I am working on several new opportunities and I was wondering if you might write a reference letter for me detailing how we work together and what I do to meet your needs”.
Does this sound better? I think so! I think the types of comments that you would be looking for would be:
· Creative
· Organized
· Responsive
· Service Oriented
These are the areas where I think a good salesperson and a mediocre salesperson part ways. Let me give some examples.
Creativity…
Mediocre salesperson: let me know what you need and I will go and find it. If someone else shows you something you like, let me know because I can beat anyone’s prices.
Good salesperson: this individual is presenting several ideas and presentations including spec samples and virtual spec samples and customized flyers featuring products that meet the customer’s needs all throughout the year.
Organization…
Mediocre salesperson: on a sales call they say I can’t remember if you folks do a trade shows. Do you? Also just let me know if anything comes up.
Good salesperson: I know when we met in December you told me that you had a big trade show in May so I wanted to present some ideas to you now so that we have plenty of time to get what we want. Also I want to review what promotional product needs that you have coming up between now and the end of the year. Do you mind if I ask a few questions?
Responsiveness…
Mediocre salesperson: the customer has to call to see if the rep is interested in suggesting products for an upcoming event. The rep calls back three days later and gives them a product description and a price.
Good salesperson: this rep knows that they have an event, suggests ideas before they are due with pricing that fits their budget range and at the very least provides an ESP Centerstage Presentation or a virtual or actual product spec sample.
Service Oriented…
Mediocre salesperson: when told that there is a problem with an incorrect imprint they let the customer know that they will get back to them after they talk to the home office and/or the manufacturer. Several days go by as they attempt to find out who is to blame for the error.
Good salesperson: in the same scenario this rep says, OK we will rectify the situation. Let me ask what we can do to make the situation better. Can we redo the job in time for your event? Will a discount on the price be acceptable if we do not have adequate time to rerun the order? Another common practice with the good rep is to pick up the goods and get them away from the customer. Finding who to blame is last on the list of priorities!
Do you see the difference? Do you find yourself being described in any of these scenarios? If so I hope that it is under the good salesperson description of how they would approach a scenario.
You need to be able to let your customers and prospects know what makes you valuable to them. How are you going to help them do their job? How are you going to make them look better? We have all heard about the two minute elevator speech where we describe what we do to other people who are not familiar with our industry.
I recommend that everyone have a two minute speech that they can give to prospects and existing customers that details who you work for them and what you bring to the table. Why should they do business with you? Again, because you are a good man or woman, carries no weight. You need to put yourself in the shoes of the buyer and thinking about what you can do to make their jobs easier. What is important to them? You probably should have this in your two minute opening with clients to ask them this because I know different buyers will have different hot buttons and most of them will tell you up front.
The ability of a rep in this industry to match up their services with the buyers is critical if you are going to get the accounts and keep the accounts. Failing to meet their needs, whether it is because you didn’t know what was important to them or because you failed to perform, is irrelevant. In either scenario you have lost the account!
So as do so many things in this great industry of ours, it all comes down to you! You will need to sell yourself, not just on that opening or first sales call, but rather on every call that you make. Your buyers, just like you at the grocery store looking at items on their shelf, will make decisions on whether you are worth what you are asking. The smart rep will have already asked them self this question, and will be able to answer with a resounding, YES, I am worth every penny and this is why!
