New Sales Gig in 2021? Do These Five Things to Set Yourself Up For Success
COVID has made a lot of people look at their jobs a lot differently. As a result, there’s been a lot of turnover in the workplace.
Taking on a new sales role often feels like drinking from a firehose. There’s just.so.much.to.learn. Layer all of the elements of a pandemic over the top and it can feel even more overwhelming. Stop for a minute or two and think about what needs to be done before you just dive in, and you’ll gain some clarity about the best way forward.
These five essential sales tips will make you think differently about your new role and set you apart on your team.
1. Get The Lay of the Land
The pandemic showed us just how small the world really is. Think about how quickly the virus spread… and that is just from in-person contact. Geography means less as we connect online at previously unimaginable levels. Even if you don’t have a defined territory on a map, there is likely some sort of division of responsibilities among your sales team so that you’re not crawling over each other for the same customers.
Consider…
What’s your role on your team?
Are you sharing a physical space, territory or responsibility?
How are the meetings run?
I work with many organizations and they are all unique. Ask questions and understand how yours is run. Then it will be a little easier to settle into what to expect from working with your customers.
Here are more things to consider regarding your customers…
What are your differentiation points and how do they fit into the value proposition?
What are your prospects trying to accomplish?
Why would they buy from you? Why wouldn’t they?
What has worked in the past?
What hasn’t been tried yet?
Established sales pros in your organization can provide great insight that will give you a head start with your prospects, and also earn you some credibility among the team.
2. Know The Players In Your Organization
If you’re actually working from an office, you might need to know how to operate the copier or where to find paper clips. Maybe you have a great idea for a marketing piece, or don’t totally understand another one. Who do you go to?
The obvious answer is your direct supervisor. Everything seems to go through them anyway, right? Instead of asking your supervisor to take care of things for you all the time, ask who you should talk to, and have the conversation yourself. Your relationships within your company will pay dividends.
I was taught long ago that the two most important people in any office are the receptionist and the janitor because they control everything that comes in and goes out of the office. That’s true if you are working in a physical office, but what if everyone is remote?
There are still some very important people to get to know. Think about every step in the order fulfillment process. Would it be beneficial for you to know someone in shipping/receiving? Who’s the customer service manager? How about the accounting department?
Everybody in your company has a role and they’re all human beings. Treat people well, and don’t look down on anybody. You’re all a part of the same team, and you never know when you might need a little help.
Pro tip: Spend time getting to know someone from a different department a couple of times a week. You might sit with them for lunch or have a phone call. Listen and learn about what they do, and what they’re up against. You can learn a lot about how to talk to receptionists and personal assistants from the ones in your office or organization. You’ll also find that you’re probably the only one reaching out like this, and that’s a really good differentiator.
3. Get a Clear Understanding of What’s Expected Of You
Yes, you have a revenue target to hit. Sure. Is it realistic? What does the ramp-up look like? How long before you’re expected to hit it? What are the metrics and KPI’s that are being measured?
By the third or fourth day in a new job, you start to wonder if you’re performing well enough to keep it. That revenue goal looms large but is really rather obscure if that’s the only measure being judged.
Sit down with your supervisor and discuss this during your first week, if not before you start. Schedule regular meetings throughout your first six months to track your progress and make sure you’re on track or exceeding expectations. It doesn't hurt to over-communicate in this scenario.
Don’t expect all of this to be laid out in front of you. Most companies I see do this very poorly. Think about the kind of onboarding experience you will need, and don’t be afraid to ask for it. Your company is willing to invest in you, but it’s not fair to make them assume the best way to do that.
Now check your own expectations. Yep, you laughed at the KPI’s they gave you because they were so attainable they were, well, laughable. Not so fast… Your managers have been doing this longer than you have, and they know what should be expected of someone in your position. The ramp-ups are in place for a reason.
Don’t hold yourself back, but don’t just double those expectations for yourself because you’re an overachiever. Set reasonable goals for yourself as you get started. Once you’re more ingrained in the process, then they can get gaudy. It’s hard to keep a great mindset if you feel like you’re failing, especially if you’re the only one who feels that way. You can’t be a rockstar until you can appreciate how to play the instrument.
4. Let Go of the Fear of Failure
Nothing ratchets up the pressure like the relentless and futile pursuit of perfection. You’re going to screw up from time to time, but you have to work really hard to actually screw up a deal.
If you’re new, ask questions. Be curious. Be engaged. If you’ve been around awhile, then you know you need to dance on the edge every once in a while to get things done. Regardless of your tenure, if you’re afraid of failure, you’ll do none of these things. Don’t be so afraid to fail that you get in the way of your own success.
The best hitters in professional baseball fail two times out of three. Similar statistics exist for salespeople at the top of their profession. Accept it and move forward.
My first sales manager told me that if you’re not upsetting anybody, you’re not doing your job. It took me a while to realize what that means, but now it’s clear. If you’re trying to please everybody, you’ll thrill nobody. Your role is to thrill.
If you’re afraid to thrill, it’s going to stifle your prospecting efforts. You’ll have a hard time asking the necessary questions to obtain the commitments that move the sales process forward. In short, your fear of failing will cause you to fail.
This game is hard. Accept the collateral damage and get to work. The tough days will give you the perspective to really appreciate the great ones.
5. Ask Your Current Customers Why They Buy From You
This is the most important aspect of sales, yet 80% of salespeople can’t accurately answer it. Worse, that same 80% are assuming why their customers are buying, which makes it impossible to reliably get at the issues that make prospects act.
If there is one thing I want you to take from this article, it’s this… Call the 10 best customers your company has, and ask them why they do business with you. The answers they give you should provide the formula for the conversations you’ll be having with your prospects, regardless of what the marketing department puts together for you. Think about it, is there any more valuable information for making sales than from what the people who are actually buying from you can offer?
Pro Tip: Share the answers with management. Wanna build some credibility in your company? Teach the people up the chain of command something they don’t realize about their business.
Hall of Fame Tip: Record those answers on video so you can put them on the company website. This information is gold. Everybody should know about it, and it’ll help you make sales for life.
Take this advice and use it to become a quota-crushing sales machine. Want to dig a little deeper? Many sales pros got a great start in their careers by being a part of the Rethink The Way You Sell Community. Every time I talk to an experienced sales pro, we both seem to walk away from the conversation a little more enlightened.
You’re also invited to join one of my 30-minute training sessions. I offer these a couple of times per month for free. Take a look at what’s on the schedule.
Jeff Bajorek
Real. Authentic. Experience.
There’s a big difference between knowing how to sell and being able to. Jeff Bajorek spent over a decade in the field as a top performer. He’s been in your shoes. He knows what it will take. He can help you succeed.
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