Earlier this week I was speaking with distributor and we were discussing sales effectiveness. Throughout his career he has been in sales roles, inclusive of sales management. One of the areas we discussed is the attributes of successful salespeople. He told me about an article he wrote for his company\’s sales newsletter a number of years ago. He recently published it on LinkedIn and, as experienced sales managers will recognize, the attributes haven\’t changed.
While sales (defined as truly selling and servicing the customer, not \”enhanced customer service\”) is challenging, but with the right temperament and thought process it can be rewarding for the individual, the customer and the company. He called this \”The \’B\’ Attitudes of Selling\”.
Why? Because sales is an attitude. It requires a certain mentality that balances the needs of the customer and the needs of your company. It takes entrepreneurial thinking. And not everyone is meant to be an outside salesperson, even if that is the natural career development path.
And managers … managing to the \’B\’s\’ will help your sales organization rise to the top in the eyes of your customers.
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Okay, it\’s not 10 and they are not \”live lessons\” but these are 28 sales lessons. Here\’s the B\’s:,
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This collection of B\’s\” was developed by Dave Gravely at State Electric Supply. Share other \”Be\’s\” with him or below.
It\’s management\’s responsibility to put the right people in the right seat, not because the person thinks the position is their next natural step or \”needed\” for compensation reasons. If most of these skills are not innate to you, sales may not be the right role. If you can look in the mirror and say, \”this is me\”, then the key is delivering on it daily as it will differentiate you in the eyes of your customers and help you be more successful.
Every salesperson and manager should be thinking about how they can \”B\” better and \”B\” delivering to their customer, and their company, on a daily basis.
Remember, your customers view your company through you. Ask yourself, \”what are they seeing\”?
Are you all you can \”B\”?
And yes, I\’ve been in sales and in sales management.
