Do you just skim the cream, or do you really sell, uncovering and developing opportunities?
Let me explain.
Some sales reps place "Anything on your desk?" calls. This is skimming the cream. It's practicing the "being in the right place, at the right time" method of selling. Which doesn't require much skill. Just activity. For example,
"Hi Mike, it's Pat at National Services. I was wondering if you have anything on your desk I could bid on...any projects coming up?"
So when do you think this rep will be have a chance at a sale?
Right. Only when there is an impending project staring at that prospect or customer at that very moment. Otherwise, it's a "no," and on to the
next one.
If the caller gets lucky, and the prospect/customer does have something to quote on, there are also other competitors vying for this same business--others who are also skimming the cream. A pricewar typically ensues, everyone starts trimming
their price and margins, and finally, one rep gets the deal, at a tiny profit.
Here are danger signs of sales reps placing these skim the cream/anything on your desk calls:
-Many short calls that simply inquire, "Anything going' on?" When there's not, the rep says, "Keep us in mind," and moves on.
-Lots of price quotes unaccompanied by any other information
-Optimistic sales projections that consistently fall short
-Plenty of requests to the sales manager, begging to drop price and give other concessions.
-Lots of follow-up calls to "see how we did," that are unreturned
-Other follow-up calls that result in, "We gave the business to No-Margin Supply. They beat you by three-hundredths of a cent per unit."
-An estimating department that rolls their eyes when the rep rushes in with another, "I've got a potential big deal here," and eventually they treat the rep like The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
-A sale here or there that required plenty of effort by the rep, where the price was sliced to the bone, and often is more trouble than it is worth.
-Many one-time sales, since the rep never really understood why the customer bought in the first place.
So what should you do?
Simple, but not always easy. It requires work.
Don't make your objective for the call to simply skim the cream. You will always get the easy ones by placing calls the right way. The goal should be to dig deeper and get the ones you are missing now.
Understand the big picture. Don't be a simple vendor. Question more. If there is some cream lying around, work it. But find out more about it. Why is the need present? For example,
"I'll be happy to give you a quote on that. Tell me more about the project."
