As a small business owner, does your instinct tell you that your sales person or business development staff aren’t performing at their best?
If so, you’re probably right. Many business owners I’ve spoken with over the years expressed this to me. Sometimes, the blame can be shared mutually. Perhaps the owner or responsible staff hasn’t supplied the employee with adequate resources to be a top performer or alternately, a salesperson has fallen into complacency, either way, a solution needs to be found, that’s where I come in. As a seasoned sales person and business developer for major companies in the past and owning several small businesses, I usually can get a true picture of what’s going on.
My approach is very non-confrontational,first, I simply want to understand your business model, what services or products you sell and establish an understanding of your target market. I also evaluate what resources could possibly be lacking, i.e.business software, marketing materials, electronic communication devices etc. Then, I can better ascertain if a business developer or sales team member is deficient from lack of means or they simply need proper training and mentor-ship, even a combination of both. Other times, sales people and business development personnel can encounter a bit of complacency when gone unchecked. When a sensible game plan is finally established and expectations of the employee are set forth, a true measure of performance can exist.
The great majority of the time the issue lies with the employees but in fairness it’s wise to look at both ends of the spectrum. A disciplined individual should come to work to do just that, work. There’s little substitute for diligence. Keeping top of mind via email with existing clients for their next purchase, cold calling and subsequent follow ups, listening skills, closing skills and objection handling are just a few items I work 1 on 1 with the person i question to make them more productive. Reach out to me, we’ll talk and see if I can be of assistance.
