You have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth, using them in that proportion will be very beneficial in all business transactions.
Maybe it’s a new customer that has the potential to be “the big deal” you’ve always wanted. Once when I had recently changed companies I was faced with a previously successful sales territory that had been trending downward in revenue for the previous 5+ years. No one within the organization could come up with a reason why it seemed as though the business had just “vanished”. The first thing I did was to get a printout of all of the open accounts in the territory (This was back in the stone ages) along with their corresponding credit limits. The goal was to see who was buying from us, in what volume and frequency, and who still had room to grow. I was trying to gain some perspective and look for any trends that may exist. The thing that jumped out at me the most was that there was a handful of accounts that had very large credit lines that were going unused or underused. Again, no one in the organization could explain this to me. It was becoming clear that to get answers I was going to have to go to the source, directly to the customer. I picked up the phone and started to schedule appointments. I was able to secure an appointment with the president of a large, multi-store operation, for the purpose of this story, let’s call him “Jimmy” and the company “XYZ co”. XYZ co. had a credit line that would if fully utilized monthly, increase my sales by 1000%. This was a big deal, and I wanted to make a great impression. I gathered as much information about Jimmy and XYZ co. as I could from the other salesmen in my organization. It seemed as though he was a low-key, down to earth kind of guy, so I decided to forego bringing in doughnuts for the first meeting (the industry standard at the time), not wanting to distract from my mission, to solve whatever issue was keeping XYZ co. from buying from us.
After the usual pleasantries, I simply asked Jimmy why XYZ co. wasn’t doing business with us when there are so many reasons that they should. Then I sat back and actively listened. If you are not familiar with the term “active listening” here is a brief description. Active listening occurs when you hear what is being conveyed and ask related questions to make sure you understand it the way it was intended to be heard. It is a very effective tool in dispute resolution, but should also be used in sales situations. Actively listening will reduce the canceled or returned orders and as an unexpected consequence, it will also increase sales. The more a customer feels you understand what they want or need, the more business they will send your way because you “get it” and they know it will be done right!
During our conversation, it came out that roughly 5 years previous, there had been a salesperson with my company that had made a mistake with one of their orders. It just so happened that the order was for one of XYZ co’s largest clients, and it was a critical order. The mistake had cost XYZ co. thousands of dollars in missed business when their client “punished” them. XYZ co., in turn, “punished” my company by withholding orders. Rather than going back in and trying to make things right again, the salesperson from my company “assumed” that XYZ co. would never do business with him again, and avoided them altogether. This damaged the relationship even further, almost assuring the perceived scenario. XYZ co. assumed that their business was not important to my company, as no one bothered to contact them and turn things around, so they went out and found new suppliers.
This cycle went on for years until I came knocking on their door. Needless to say, Jimmy was a bit skeptical of my ability to perform when my organization had shown no desire to do so for over 5 years. I assured him that my desire was genuine and that I was willing to earn the right to do business with XYZ co. again. He reluctantly agreed to allow me to speak with one specific salesman and take only “non-critical” orders from him, on a trial basis.
I went back to my manager and told him what had transpired and gained his support for my plan of under-promising and over-delivering to this customer on a trial basis. Over the next few months, word got around to other salespeople in XYZ co. and finally to the main purchasing agent that we were exceeding expectations in product quality, pricing, and delivery, so naturally our business together grew. In twelve months XYZ co. alone effected a 1200% growth in revenue for my sales territory. There were others in the geography with similar stories and results, which helped me to become a highly regarded salesperson in that company, winning many sales awards and earning significant bonuses.
Active listening had created an opportunity for me that had paid off in spades both financially and from a personal perspective. Even though I am no longer with that company or even in that industry, I still have friends and mentors because of that opportunity.
If you want to know more about me, you can go to my website at www.JohnsonCapital.solutions
