I am blown away how all the focus is continually being placed on what copier dealers need to do to succeed inside the office equipment environment. Copier dealerships need a dose of reality and accept the fact they must change their mindsets and become open to change if their dealerships are to succeed into the future.
Ok, let’s take the focus off “copier dealership” and insert any other industry and the same holds true. If your sales reps are to succeed into the future, one thing has to happen immediately: Your sales reps need to transform!
Sales leaders, I am here to share with you it all starts with making a commitment to bridge the gap between your sales reps’ “analog” sales skill set and their “digital” sales skill set. We all agree the workforce is getting younger. Then my question to sales leaders: Why bring digital natives into your organization and expect them to succeed incorporating only analog sales go to market strategies?
Guide them, coach them and educate them as they now have to become mini-marketers on behalf of your company. Think of how they can amplify your corporate message.
Why is this important? The top three issues I hear from sales reps (copier sales reps specifically):
1. Net new sales opportunities
2. Can’t crack the C-suite
3. Hard time creating unique differentiation
In case you haven’t noticed, sales is a changing. How sales reps go to market must change in order to align with how buyers are buying and corporations are doing business Why? According to Google research, 89 percent of B2B researchers use the internet during the B2B research process.
Let’s go back to the three issues concerning sales reps and apply the Google research statistic to it. If 89 percent of B2B researchers use the internet during the B2B research process, then sales reps need to learn how to play in the online sandbox.
From here on out, I ask you to visualize on two words:
Rejected
Approved
If you would like more net new sales opportunities, crack the C-Suite more often and create your unique differentiation, then take your online presence serious. Start with your LinkedIn profile. You have the ability as a sales rep to use your profile to your benefit before, during and after the sales process.
Please take a serious look at your LinkedIn profile and think about the following:
Vision — How is my story being told through my LinkedIn profile?
Mission — What is my objective of having a LinkedIn profile?
Purpose — What function is my LinkedIn profile going to provide to me?
Plan — How am I going to construct my LinkedIn profile?
Goals — How am I going to leverage LinkedIn to grow my business?
Furthermore, if your LinkedIn profile can’t answer these five questions, you may get vetted out of potential sales opportunities. In business context, the word “vetted” means to make a careful and critical examination: check, examine, scrutinize, investigate, inspect, look over or evaluate. Starting to get it?
Being true to yourself, set aside some quiet time and answer these five questions regarding your LinkedIn profile:
1. Does my headline promote the value I bring to the businesses I work with? If the answer is “no,” then think of the challenges your prospects or clients have and how you can help when crafting your headline.
2. Does my summary state the value I bring to the businesses I work with? If the answer is “no,” then think of the W’s. What you do, what makes you different, why you do what you do, what is your unique promise of value and how you can address the challenges businesses face in today’s marketplace.
3. Does my experience promote added value and differentiation? If the answer is no then give thought to promoting how you serve your clients and what do you do within your role that makes you different?
4. Am I building trust and credibility with my prospects and clients based upon what is currently on my LinkedIn profile?
5. Am I eliminating any risk factors with my prospects and clients based upon what is currently on my LinkedIn profile?
With the changing sales environment, think of what you can do as a sales rep in a highly connected, digital business world to build your visible expertise.
In conclusion…
1. Sales is changing every day and we need to adapt
2. Your digital first impression has become a big deal
3. LinkedIn is where people go when they want to learn more about you
You have one shot to make a great first digital impression. So hit them with your best shot and fire away! It is all about developing a next-gen mindset and skill set. If you all plan on being in sales for any length of time you must learn how to adapt.
