Old ‘Blue-Eyes’ sings ‘My
Way’
At
an early point in my sales career I sat in a series of small talks by my
company’s most successful reps. They talked off-the cuff about how they went
about their daily activities, how they talked to customers, and those simple,
daily tactics they found that worked for them. At the time I was struck by a
common theme: all of their tips, tricks, resources, and learned behaviors were
ones of largely their own invention. None, absolutely none, of the top
producing reps were relying on the corporate marketing programs, the ads, or the
brochures so artfully crafted at the corporate level. Sure that material helped
to form a foundation but they didn’t rely on it. It was simply a backdrop to
their own success strategies. Each of those people had gone their own way and
taken steps to become a marketing force of one.
Timing is everything
Sometimes
corporate marketing programs are delayed or just come at the wrong time in the
sales cycle to really do you much good in the short term. The marketing people
are well-meaning and working hard but the truth is budgets get cut, or another
region or product gets the limelight this quarter as opposed to yours.
Sometimes you wait interminably as some team at the top is trying to invent the
new life-changing system for Marketing that will integrate Everything…and the
words “it should come out next fall” are small comfort to the rep who has to
make a forecast and who’s earnings relies on consistent sales results.
It was a simpler time
Back
then they were simple things: handwritten birthday cards, mailing articles
about competitors, logging conversations in steno books, offering to speak at
customer events, helping out at a charity event…the list was long. Yet
everything on the list was deceptively simple. Why didn’t I think of doing
that? It was clear that what put these people ahead of the rest is that early
on they instinctively knew they were, and had to be, a marketing force of one.
It remains true today. Technology changes how you go about it but not the fact
that despite the corporate support you might be given you have to be
self-reliant. And you have to find self-reliant ways to communicate and close
customers. You have to do it – and do it consistently.
Make them Your Own
So
rediscover those simple actions that can help you. Then apply today’s
technology to that action – and make that technology tool your own. Make it something
that you control, that fits your style and conveys your own sales personality
to the prospect. For example, instead of just sending an often inappropriate holiday
gift to a customer or prospect this year you might log on to Kiva.org and send them a gift
card for a loan to a developing country entrepreneur. Sound daring? I guarantee
that the customer will always remember you and can re-loan the gift themselves
in an easy ‘pay-it-forward’ web application. The new technology tools are out
there in bigger and better ways than ever before – and you can easily make them
your own to become that marketing force of one.
