M: Selling Idioms

Major Account

Can also be known as Corporate or Nominated Accounts. These are opportunities allegedly more complex and important to your organisation. Normally a senior salesrep guards these with the ferocity of a lioness protecting her new offspring. Political antennae are essential accompanied with reams of Documentation.

The Man

As in “Money-Authority-Need”. The Man (who can be a man or woman, obviously) is the person you need to get hold of and convince you are a winner to progress.

Margin

Some random measure of the difference between sales price and costs upon which a salesrep often gets paid commission. I say random as this rarely follows the accounting definition of Margin…

Marketeer

Someone involved in Marketing. A sales support role I am led to believe…

Marketing

Next time you think you are not getting the T.L.C. you deserve from Marketeers, remind them of one anecdote, “the pure definition of Marketing is one where it makes selling redundant”.

Match-test

If you cannot say your initial pitch before a lighted match burns you thumb and forefinger, shorten it and say it again.

Mentor

Someone within your own organisation that takes you under their wing and passes on their awesome knowledge and experience in selling and life. The more authority they have the better. Senior people like Mentoring as they need to be seen as bringing on the next generation of superstars. And you are one.

Metric

A stark, undisputed financial benefit that a customer has enjoyed from your offering. You should think of these every waking hour. To say one is one of the only two times you should ever open your mouth (the other is to ask a question).

Milkround

Can be two different activities: First your call route of customers you visit, used in a derogatory manner usually aimed at Biscuit-Dunkers; Second, where an organisation has an extremely impolite buyer and holds regular beauty contests among potential suppliers to see who will win the contract for the next short while (bad for both parties, naturally).

Minimise The Difference

The potential customer baulks at the outrageous price tag. You focus only on how much more they claim you are than alternatives and justify this by all the ‘extras’ they cannot live without that account for this.