How Long Before You Disappear?

July 28, 2012 at 12:00 AM
Share & Print

Your dream clients have seen your kind before. They've seen the new salesperson come in full of excitement and ambition. They've seen him work like the devil to build consensus around a deal. He talked a great game and did a wonderful job selling himself and his company.

Then it came time for the execution. Suddenly, the salesperson was nowhere to be found, and all of their calls for help went to people they'd never even met. Sometimes the execution of the original sale went OK, and the salesperson was present. But once he had their business, there wasn't any reason for him to show his face or spend time with them anymore. Complacency set in, and it was followed closely by dissatisfaction. A dissatisfaction that went unnoticed until it was too late.

And now here you are all full of piss and vinegar. You look familiar. You sound familiar. And you conjure up memories of promises made and not kept. The promises are new coming from you, no doubt, but they sound the same to your prospect. You can see that your dream clients are incredulous. It's written all over their faces.

And so your dream clients begin to ask themselves this question: How long before you too disappear? Where will you be when the bullets start flying? What is your plan to go from quarter to quarter, from project to project, continually finding ways to help them?

What is your plan to keep from growing complacent and to keep your clients from growing complacent? How do you and your dream clients continue to work together to go from success to success, always pushing the boundaries out a little further and helping one another grow?

Why should your dream clients believe that you are any different than those that have come before you, those who made the sales they needed to make and slowly—or not so slowly—faded away, never to be heard from again?

The sales profession is like the fashion industry. Every season you have to release a new line. You have to find something new and interesting to show your clients. And it must be something that makes a difference for them and their businesses. If you are going to be relevant, you can't disappear. If you are going to earn your place as their strategic partner, you have to maintain a presence in their lives.

Sign up for The Lead and get a new tip in your inbox every day! More tips:

Anthony Iannarino is the managing director of B2B Sales Coach & Consultancy, a boutique sales coaching and consulting company, and an adjunct faculty member at Capital University's School of Management and Leadership. For more information, go http://thesalesblog.com/s-anthony-iannarino/

NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.

Related Stories

Resource Center