Soak Up The Frustration

We all know the 2 biggest wastes of reps’ time; coming second & fire-fighting.  So it was heartening to hear of a tale today where a rep at one of my clients went to sort out post-sales doldrums to great affect.

The solution delivered had (unusually) proved unreliable.  So rather than let the episode fester, he convened a meeting.  Also, instead of the main ‘decision makers’ (in a sign-off fashion), he made it with the 4 ‘users’.

He let them spill out all their frustrations, which made for an uncomfy session.  They then paused for breath and let him come up with an action plan.  From it a process review followed, and an opportunity for further sales.  The result was 14k more margin.

Eating humble pie was never a forte of mine.  Particularly when a different dog messed up the dinner involved.  Yet in taking this approach the rep (Tim) succeeded in uncovering that his firm remained the preferred partner and that the situation could be improved.

Another example proving the old adage ‘a great time to sell to people is when they’re thinking of going elsewhere’.