“You know Dave, he could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo!”

I used to think this was a compliment (and it may have been meant to be one). Maybe they thought, wow, this guy is so good at his job, he could get someone who clearly doesn’t need something to buy it.

But let’s analyze it for a minute:  Were they saying I was talented and persuasive enough to convince an Eskimo to buy ice cubes?  Or, were they saying I was sneaky (some say ‘shady’) enough to convince an Eskimo to buy ice cubes?  Or, were they suggesting that I was creative enough to find an Eskimo in a warm place where buying ice cubes made sense (which actually did happen to me once!)?

I really don’t think it’s much of a compliment. Selling unnecessary things to a customer is a BIG mistake! I don’t want a salesperson working for me, representing my business or product, who is willing to make a bad sale.  I want a salesperson who works hard to identify ideal prospects and then uses their sales skills to honestly, ethically and civilly close the deal. Now’s a good time to think about your comp program – make sure you’re not incentivizing these bad deals!

The best salespeople focus on building long-term relationships and staying connected to their customers long after the deal is done. Selling does not need to be sneaky, and it does not require dishonesty.  Sure, there are lots of skills (and talents) that go into good selling, but none of them should involve shame.

I remember an argument I got in with a VP of Finance years ago.  He was upset that salespeople were overcompensated for the work they did (instead of the revenue they produced).  His argument was that they were “taking the easy way out.”  Instead of convincing everyone to buy their products, they were simply finding prospects that really needed their product and then pricing it in a way that made it almost impossible to say no.  I asked, “are they producing a good margin?” His response was, “Yes, they’re ahead of plan… but if all you do is find people who need what you sell and price accordingly, why do I need salespeople?  Couldn’t anyone do that?”

My thought was (and still is) that it is a good thing he was in finance and not in sales!  That’s exactly what a good salesperson does. My customers remain customers (and friends) for life.

If you want to have an honest conversation about Business Management Software (click HERE if you don’t know what Business Management Software is), call us.  If you want scare tactics, tricks, techno-speak, games, and manipulation… call someone else.

by David Williams | www.LinkedIn.com/in/RetailDave | (813) 321-1300

Is teamwork really all that important? We preach it and we teach it — to our kids and our staff. We may even drop small fortunes sending our teams on corporate retreats to have them freshen up on it. I’d bet many of you have one of those “there’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’” posters hanging up in your offices. But we rarely question the value of these efforts.

Is it even worth it?

The obvious answer is, of course, yes. Teamwork, at its very core, is invaluable and deserves all that we can pour into it. Unfortunately, many of us don’t practice what we preach. Sure, we want our staff to embrace teamwork and collaboration, but what about the business management systems that your teams interact with daily?

Why do we only apply the whole teamwork mindset to people and not our business management systems?

Think about it, don’t you want your Inventory Planning system to operate as a team with your Order Processing, Procurement, and Accounting systems? How about Payroll, Expense Management and Accounting? Wouldn’t it be great if all your systems operated as one lean, disciplined team? Imagine what THAT would do to your business!

With all the time and resources we spend on teaching and preaching teamwork to our teams, shouldn’t we make sure the tools they use do the same?

Imagine driving a car where the physical brakes and the brake lights didn’t operate as a team… you would undoubtedly end up in a wreck! But isn’t that what we’re doing when we ask our team-focused staff to use tools that don’t cooperate with each other? How much time do they spend overcoming that lack of teamwork? How many mistakes slip through?

Talk to us, we can help. It costs nothing to chat. If we can’t help, we’ll tell you right away.

by David Williams | www.LinkedIn.com/in/RetailDave | (813) 321-1300