Sales Column

 

Before You Build Your Sales Force

How to Find & Hire the World's Greatest Salesperson and What to Do Until You Can Afford Him or Her

 

By Matthew Lampros

 

Being an entrepreneur goes well beyond being an inventor or a founder. Being an entrepreneur means you also have to finance your business, market and sell your product, and develop manufacturing or operational capabilities to meet market demand. Eventually, if your business goes just the way you dream it will, you will hire the very best in each of those categories.

Until then, you will have to become the expert. Or will you?

My answer is no — your job is to build the business to a point where you can hire the experts. Get to that point and you can guarantee your success.

Here are four sales rules that will drive the business that funds your dream.

 

No. 1 - Know the Game

Buying is a decision to change. People that buy from you are either people you convinced to change or people who had already decided to change before they found you. If you have any experience with human behavior, you'll know how hard it is to get someone to decide to change. You can either spend your sales efforts convincing a prospect to change or explaining why you are the best solution for their needs.

 

No. 2 - "Choose Me, Choose Me!"

Segment the market into those who are looking for (and have a budget for) a service like yours, and those that could use it but are not "looking" for it. Selling a customer your service is fairly straightforward, inexpensive and repeatable when they have already made the decision to buy. Spend your time here and save the convincing for the unbelievably well-connected rainmaker you hire later.

 

No. 3 - Insist on Access

The second most important element of your successful sale is access to the people that make the decisions. If you are not talking to those people you will lose the deal to your competitors. Sometimes it feels very uncomfortable to ask to talk the boss; expect that and do it anyway because your competitors did it two months ago.

 

No. 4 - Cover Your Bets

Don't fall for the temptation of expecting the big account to come in that will solve everything. Force yourself to do the work and engage five times the number of customers you need to meet your goals. Even giant companies like GE and SAP uses this strategy to ensure they hit their numbers. It is one of the simplest and most significant ways to ensure your future.

 

Think long term; believe in the big part of your dream. The secret here is to do what it takes to bring in the revenue you need — to hire the team you need — to create the company you want. If you are not an expert don't become one, work to hire that person instead. Until then you'll need to stick to the basics. When selling, that means you avoid convincing people to change but spend your time working with those that already have. Spend your time with the right person and spend your time with a lot of them.

Revenue goals can virtually be assured, and so too your company's future.

 

Matthew Lampros is the president and COO of eLampros, a growth assurance firm. He is a strong advocate of get-your-hands-dirty methods for improving lead generation, prospecting and sales efforts. eLampros works with the Purdue University Center for Customer Driven Quality to help companies utilize researched practices for successful product launches, improved call center operations, and higher inside sales close rates.

 

Launch - Winter 2007

 

 

For the full "digital magazine" version of Winter 2007, visit: www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/growutah/launch_2007winter