There are lots of little things that managers and sellers can do to improve their sales. One of the most overlooked things we do in sales and management is also one of the easiest things we can do to improve sales… yet it’s one of the hardest things for sellers to do.
I’m sure you’ve heard the old proverb, “It’s better to give than to receive”, and these…
“If you want something, give it.” – Deepak Chopra
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” – Anne Frank
“Life is a boomerang. What you give you get.” – Anonymous
“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.” – Jim Rohn
“Don’t expect to receive if you are not willing to give.” – Anonymous
Giving is a GREAT lesson in all walks of our lives, but today I am talking about giving up accounts on account lists. Seems like an easy enough thing to do, right? Wrong!
One of the hardest things to get a media rep to do is to give up an account that is on his or her account list.
There are two main reasons why account list management is overlooked: First, to some, it doesn’t seem important and they believe it offers little return for their effort. Secondly, it ruffles media reps’ feathers like no other. Giving up an account, regardless of the last time they were called on, can oftentimes seem like asking a child to give up their favorite toy; they tend to throw a fit, promise to call on them right away and offer up every other excuse they can think of as to why they should keep the account.
In truth, there is really only one reason reps don’t want to give up an account. They fear someone else will get that account on the air, which in turn, would make them look bad.
Show me a station that actively and regularly moves accounts around and does it for the right reasons, and I will show you a successful, strong billing station.
It takes a little prodding and pleading to get media reps accustomed to giving up accounts. The key to getting them to buy into moving accounts around is getting them to understand that if everyone in the building is willing to give up accounts, ultimately, everyone will have fresh accounts to call on.
Ask your reps to work with you on this experiment. Keep track of the results on an individual and team basis. Once you can show the positive results, the task of managing accounts will become much easier.
“Give and you shall receive!” Not only are these good words to live by, but they are good words to use when managing account lists. This way, EVERYONE wins!
You just walked out from an appointment with your client or prospect and now it’s off to your next task for the day. STOP! What you do next can have a profound impact on your future success in sales. Before moving on to your next task, take two minutes and conduct a self-evaluation of your performance by asking yourself these questions:
1. How did that meeting go? (Honestly rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10)
2. What could I have done better?
3. What did I do well?
4. What did I say or do that I should not have said or done?
Statistically, only 1 in 7 salespeople conduct a self-evaluation after each sales interaction. 85% of salespeople fail to do this.
Self-evaluation is not just for sales. Top athletes self-assess how they performed after each performance. They ask themselves… What did they do right? What did they do wrong? Where did they fall short? What can they improve? What can they do to give themselves a competitive advantage?
This same rule applies to management. If your goal is to improve and continually become a better manager, you too should evaluate yourself after every individual or group meeting with your sellers.
If you are in the 85% of sellers that do not currently do self-evaluations, START! By doing so, your performance will continue to get better with every customer contact.
