In today's business environment many companies and sales people are expending tremendous effort to sell into a select group of clients. Search and staffing firms that enjoyed strong success assisting specific candidate and company types continue to bang heads. Search, staffing, services and product sales professionals are stepping on each other. The hallways, phone lines, restaurants and bars are crowded with competing sales executives fighting over clients (who are buying) and driving down prices. Although, these lower prices are helpful in keeping inflation at bay lower revenue production and growth are stifling the economy. Sales program efficiency has reached a 5 year low. Any client with a present or future budget is in the drivers seat. Vendors and their sales executives are expending an inordinate amount of energy and resources chasing deals where the percentage of success is extremely low.
Why are these companies and sales people behaving in this futile manor?
Habits are difficult to break, they know this market, the inventory of products, candidates or services are (should be) attractive to this audience In the case of major account sales efforts, product and services vendors pursue major clients because large clients are more profitable (if the vendor can maintain prices), fortune 500 client logos look attractive on vendor collateral (brochures, web sites, proposals), the revenues and commissions are huge, the investment community is enamored with mega deals.
What are the direct costs of this strategy to the vendors, the search and staffing firms and their sales programs?
An incredible amount of money and resources are wasted when deals are lost or when the sales cycle is drawn out over a long period of time. Many sales programs are thinly financed and do not have sufficient patience to sustain such frustration. Turn over of sales staff at all levels is expensive and is directly proportionate to the frustration and length of the sales cycle. Company morale across the board is adversely affected. Poor revenue production or growth reduces the vendor's ability to introduce new products, add resources, open new markets, retain their stars. In some cases, upper level executives were forced to 'cook the books' because their sales strategy became antiquated abruptly. They devised accounting fantasies to create revenues. These same companies have products and services that do sell. Their stubborn behavior, their unwillingness to move down a few levels of client prospect size, their unwillingness to remove their blinders have cost them and will continue to cost these vendors, their employees and the economy.
Every day sales executives at every level have opportunities to make a sale. They are passing up deals. (In every industry, at every price point)
Why are they letting these opportunities pass them by?
Many sales programs are convinced they cannot sell. The sales executives have convinced their managers, the managers have convinced the CEO. It's easy to blame the economy.
The prescription for this aliment is not expensive but must be taken daily and expect the symptoms to linger. You will feel stronger almost immediately. If you continue to take this medicine you will once again believe you are Super sales person. As soon as you stop taking the medicine the symptoms will return and quickly.
1- Take responsibility for your situation. You and only you can change it.
2- Hit to them where they ain't. Find market opportunities that are not yet attractive to your competition. Many smaller, private firms have cash. There are numerous firms, institutions and other entities that are thirsty for assistance to improve their processes staff's performance, whatever.
3- Increase the number of marketing calls daily
4- Study the ratios. Calls to meetings, meetings to proposals, etc.
5- Focus to improve the ratios.
6- Analyze your weaknesses and invest time daily to improve -execution
7- Ingest positive 'vibes'. Read materials that will empower your calls with excitement and enthusiasm. Listen to audio- tapes to create an increased passion for your profession.
8- Eliminate 'stinkin thinkin'
9- Reduce your exposure to negative sensationalism
10- Join and participate in some type of support structure
11- Build a business plan and stick to it.