Black Sales Journal

One of our subscribers to Black Sales Journal, a high-performing sales executive wrote a personal note to me suggesting that I cover this topic; I think you will appreciate it.

We discussed in two posts in January the act of developing deep, meaningful, and enduring customer relationships.  That was posted in Black Sales Journal – 1/13, Deepening Your Customer Relationships and 1/20, Deepening Your Customer Relationships Part 2.  Your accounts are constantly going to be a target for other sales professionals who believe that they can steal your prized customer relationships.

Know the Opportunities

There are moves you can make in recognition of your customer relationships.  One method is to acknowledge notable milestones in the business relationship with a personal note or card.  Below are a few examples of situations where this would be useful.

• A successful sale
• An unsuccessful sale
• Anniversary of the initial sale (continuous)
• The additional sale of new products with the account
• The successful satisfaction of a problem
• The termination of a business relationship
• The changing of your buyer
• Your involvement with a new account (reassigned to you)

I want to make sure you recognize the impact of this small gesture.  All of the above milestones happen in the course of the business relationship.  Business relationships have a continuity that, at some point, begins to be routine.  As a Black sales professional you need to stand out from the routine business relationships, and demonstrate the personal touch.  This will help accomplish that, and they will remember it.

A Personal Example

I once had a client who was a large water treatment provider for medical institutions, educational institutions and large manufacturers.  When I attempted to secure the business on my first go round, I was unsuccessful, even though I thought we would pull it off. References with my current customers had been checked, payment arrangements discussed and next steps made clear.

After being informed that were not successful I sent a card expressing my appreciation for the opportunity as well as my new found position as the “expert” on their operations and how that will benefit our relationship in the future.  The card was warmly worded, personal, and although there may have been a hint of disappointment, a positive message.

The following year, I was surprised to find that my buyer their was now the General Manager, and I was soliciting a new buyer.  When I contacted the customer my call was immediately returned.  The new buyer indicated that she had my appreciation card, and my business card in hand and I was going to be one of two vendors allowed to participate in the quote process.  She advised that the GM had indicated that it was his expectation that I be allowed this opportunity.

I got the order for the whole account that year, even without the low price.  Now, my appreciation card probably was not the whole reason, yet it was a good part of it.

There were a large number of sales professionals vying for their business, but in light of not being successful in securing the business on the first go round, my appreciation card help me to remain memorable.  The card left a positive lasting impression after they had to break the news to me that the business was staying with the current provider.

A Couple of Tips

I suggest you make this a personal card, and draft a short note in it.  You should add your business card if you feel it is necessary.  I always felt the more personal the better.  I did not send cards with my company’s business logo and name on it for this purpose, this was about me.

I found the best and most striking cards from Crane & Co.  The cards I use are the Engraved Gold Initial Ecru Boxed Cards in a set of 20  ($19.00 for 20 cards and envelopes).  They are hand engraved and made of cotton paper.  They stand out!  I get them from Barnes & Noble although you can get them a few other places, possibly  your local stationary store.  You can get a glimpse of them as well as purchase by clicking the Barnes and Noble ad on the left side of this page.  In the search box type “Crane & Company” to get there quickly.  There are less expensive alternatives from other companies on the site as well.

As a Black Sales professional you strive to create a positive lasting impression.  Remember, you have more near hits than hits in this business.  When you are unsuccessful at a proposal, leave the buyer recognizing that you are a solid professional and worthy of their recognition.  They will return your calls when you reach out the next time.  Believe it!

We are anxious to hear your comments.

I guess you could say that I have “Drank the Kool-Aid”  On this one!  There are just certain skills, attributes, and attitudes that you can have or develop that will put you in the leagues with the best.  Today, Monday (June 10th) and next Thursday (June 13th) I will lay them out.  Read them and be the best!

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Since late November of 2010, we have described many of the traits that a true successful professional would have.  We have outlined the activities and processes that would, over time, make a verifiable difference in this individual’s ability to reach goals, and provide customer satisfaction.

We have discussed personality attributes and skills that make a difference over the last several posts.  Once again it is time to talk about how a sales professional puts these all together and finds success.

Over the next three posts we will revisit these important posts and put these together in an effort to portray that individual who is sought by sales managers and customers alike.

This professional has learned the benefits of mastering relationships, both internal and external, to get the maximum leverage from each personal encounter.  This professional knows the different methods of getting exposure, and how to capitalize on it.  This individual is always prepared.

There will be some references to previous issues of Black Sales Journal, as I want to keep this as concise as possible, yet capitalize on the wealth of information that has been published to date.

Deep Enduring Relationships

There is no area more important in the long run than knowing how to ‘master the relationship’.  It does not matter what your level of intelligence is if you cannot decipher how to ‘work’ your personal relationships to your advantage, and your customers benefit, you will not have maximum effectiveness.

There is an ‘art to the relationship’ that is undeniable.  It cannot be substituted by process, intelligence, or hard work.  You see, the ‘art of the relationship’ is not an inherited trait.  It is something that you hone with every interface.  It can be aided by having a gregarious and engaging personality.

The successful Black sales professional has the ability to form deep and enduring customer relationships (Black Sales Journal 1/13, Deep and Enduring Customer Relationships and Black Sales Journal 1/20, Deep and Enduring Customer Relationships II).  This individual works with the assurance that existing relationships are strong enough to receive ‘preference’ as compared to ‘wanna-be’ sales professionals look to unseat him or her.  In other words, the customer prefers to do business with someone like this professional, and that preference ‘spoils’ the customer.  This is a powerful preference that is enduring, and anchors the relationship.  We all want to work with someone that provides value, and is concerned about our business, and produces results for us.

This ‘preference’ exists not only because of the solid personal and business connection that exists, but also because the professional is effective in providing the customer something of value.  Always strive to always be effective and always show value.

Undying Professionalism

Being effective is a good start, yet by itself it is not enough.  The consummate professional is more than just effective; he or she does those things that exude success.  We talked about this in Black Sales Journal 3/7, Be the Consummate Professional. This individual is:

• Punctual
• Empathetic
• Attentive
• Knowledgeable
• Organized
• Responsive
• Visionary

Most of these are self explanatory, yet I want to spend a minute on a couple of them:

Responsiveness is ever important.  As stated in Black Sales Journal, Responsiveness – the Objective of the Sales Professional 6/16/2011, responsiveness is in the eyes of the customer.  It is defined by the customers expectations, and includes such important items as:

• Answers the phone and returns calls promptly
• Keeps commitments
• Provides answers to inquiries and questions as soon as possible
• Stays in touch – communicates
• Provides requested information promptly

Knowledge will always set you apart.  This knowledge could get you labeled an expert.  This ‘designation’ comes from those people and businesses that have benefited from your knowledge, and make the claim in your behalf.  See a most interesting set of articles in Black Sales Journal 12/20, Your Customer Needs an Expert and Black Sales Journal 6/27, More on Being an Expert – An Edge for the Black Sales Professional.  Expert power is attractive to a customer.

Empathy provides a connection and a serum that convinces the customer you are real.  If you have no empathy for the customer, then why are you calling on them?  How are you going to solve their problem if you don’t have that connection?  Put yourself in you customer’s shoes.  Live their problems and your solutions will come about easier.  Always keep in mind that a customer can tell when you have no empathy as easily as you can tell when a love interest of yours is not interested.

Now for the point that pulls this together:  If you condition yourself to be accomplished at all of these different items, you will havecredibility. Enormous credibility is the product of having deep enduring relationships and being a consummate sales professional.

More to Come….

Armed with what is above you would think that success would be much more probable.  You probably are correct, although what are missing are the activities, habits, and processes that make the person formidable even if some of the personality issues are missing.

We will cover them in the next two information-filled posts.  These are powerful for the Black sales professional.  These items are hard to put together, and even more difficult to master, yet when you do, you have an enormous amount of power and potential.

Next up:  Black Sales Journal 6/10– The Ultimate Sales Professional Pt. II –The Black Sales Professional in Action

We hope you will read it.  If you have comment, write me at Michael.Parker@BlackSalesJournal.com.