Why Experience Doesn't Guarantee Success in Sales
There are reasons some sales people with lots of sales experience never make it to the high ranks for sales success? Have you hired someone who seemed like they would be perfect for sales because of an out going personality and good looks? Yet, when these individuals are put into sales, they just don’t make it. Certainly there could be many reasons for lack of success. One factor to consider is that instead of years of sales growth, they have months or years of the same experience and never grow beyond the basics of sales. Some of them just don’t know how to pick clients. Some will limit their success with the same activity day in and day out.
Here is a question for you, if the measurement of success in sales is to have a high sales volume, then shouldn’t you do business with high volume clients. The right answer is YES! While this might seem simple, the unsuccessful sales person often overlooks this. This is one reason why experience doesn’t always guarantee success. The salesperson never learns the lessons of whom or how to pick clients. Let’s use an example to illustrate this better.
Picking the right Client
You know the person at the grocery store who goes through the corn bin to find just the right ear of corn. They pour through the corn bin and move aside all the ears that don’t meet their specifications as the right one. You will watch him or her carefully peel the husk to see inside and determine whether the ear is ripe and meets quality and ripeness measurements. This person is picky and knows exactly what they are looking for. They won’t settle for the small ears they want the best! Time and experience has taught them what to look for. When this activity is finished, the person will walk away with a few ears of corn and leave a mess of disarray behind them. If you go to the bin after they do, you are left with the remains of the best.
You can read a lot out of that analogy but there is one point I want to make with this writing. When I talk with seasoned sales professionals who are successful, I find a common trait. They know the type of client they want and how to get the attention of the client. One might surmise that the solution to lack luster sales performance lies with how one follows the sales process and plants the seeds of opportunity in their sales territory.
If you want to change from low or mediocre success and rise to higher levels, the answer is with the salespersons clients and whom they call upon. If you are dealing with lots of clients who challenge you on price, it is because that is their job. You are probably calling on someone with a buyer attitude and the purchasing agent or someone who is lower on the corporate ladder. Rising above this lower level will match you with higher potential and more promising success. Experienced sales professionals have learned this lesson and they know whom to contact for a strategic partner. You might say they know how to pick an ear or corn.
