Everyone at your company is a sales representative. It's true or should be. Why leave it to the biz dev folks to bring home the sales leads?
The company I work at experienced fantastic growth and a "we can't lose" adrenaline. Our wagons, the sales projections were heading in the right direction. We knew there would be challenges, but we were having too much fun and winning. No rugged mountains in sight.
Then we lost an anchor client, and the world changed - for the better!
It was the stark realizations that we needed more clients, different clients so that we did not depend on any one client for our survival. And who best to find those new clients, but the associates of the company!
Make everyone an evangelist for your company's product & services. The secretary, the account manager, the programmer, the accountant - all should be well versed in the mission of the company, the brand. Share with your associates an elevator pitch that they can keep at the ready. Everyone meets with people everyday; at the mall, the gym, at a social event and so on.
At my company we split up into teams and had a contest to see who could bring in the most solid leads. And it worked; a few sales were begot from this event. BUT more importantly, everyone focused on being a company evangelist.
Today, we have dozens of new clients and our wagons are now rolling back on track in the right direction. Give it a try at your company!
Related Stories: | Topics:Management, sales + marketing, Culture and Lifestyle, Religion, Christianity, Evangelicalism, Protestantism |
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
Recent Comments | 3 Total
August 16, 2004 at 12:43pm by jim kukral
This is so true. However, not easily obtained when you have a large organization. The trick is to to hand pick your team.
One thing I have learned through success and failure, is that you hire the people with passion. Otherwise, you're just getting an employee, when you really want a family member. In other words, don't blame the team member, blame yourself for hiring the wrong person.
August 16, 2004 at 1:02pm by stephen
This can work within a division of a major company (perhaps with or without the contest). But it is critical (IMHO) that all associates of any size company have a working knowledge of the company's mission, products& services and a sense of being part of the team.
otherwise - it's just a paycheck.
I gravitate towards passionate people in any sized organization. Makes the 8-12 hrs a day worthwhile!
sph
August 17, 2004 at 1:14pm by R Cooper
I can't agree with you more, for years I have been sending the following quote to everyone in the organization.
"There is no more fascinating business in this world than that of selling.
Without salesmen there would be little progress made. Selling is behind
every successful enterprise of whatever character. Even a country has to
have its salesman. Character is the salesman's stock in trade. It is he who
first must sell himself. The product itself is secondary....Truthfulness,
enthusiasm, and patience are great assets to every salesman. Without them
he could not go far. Courage and courtesy are essential equipment. Leave
your prospective customer with a smile and he will welcome you on your next
visit. Bear in mind to be always a salesman!"
George Matthew Adams