Selling In The Present
As I sit at my computer writing today, a Sunday, I started to think about how many of us are already planning what we are going to do next weekend. Why is that? Why are we always so focused on the future? I do not know the answers to those questions but I do know this, by living in the future, we are not taking full advantage of the present. This is true in every aspect of life but it is also very applicable to the field of sales.
As a salesperson, you cannot sell to the customer you will have tomorrow and you cannot overcome the objection that already cost you a sale yesterday. The only thing you can control is today, and more specifically the customer that you are involved with at that moment. I am not saying that planning is not important; on the contrary, it is vital to the success of any professional salesperson. The point that I am making is that there is a time to plan for tomorrow and a time to sell today.
I remember watching the movie Mr. Holland’s Opus and I particularly remember one line from the movie. The line was, “Life is what happens to you when you are busy making plans.” I remember hearing that line and thinking about all the times that I was making plans for next weekend and forgot to enjoy the current weekend. Then it occurred to me that this way of thinking could be dangerous in the field of sales.
For example, let’s say you have a sales goal of 200 widgets per week and you still have to sell 50 in the next two days. You are currently in the process of selling a widget to a customer but you are thinking about how you are going to sell 49 more widgets after you complete this sale. Due to the fact you are distracted and your attention to the customer in front of you is less than what it should be, you lose this customer. Now you are still 50 widgets short of your goal.
Tomorrow will still be there but in order to be the best salesperson you can be, you must live for today. The customer you are selling to today may or may not be here tomorrow and there are no guarantees that tomorrow will bring new customers. Planning for future customers is very important and should be done “between” customers, the professional salesperson sells to the customer they have today.
FINAO - Brad Huisken - President, IAS Training
