Last week this comment was made to one of our account managers: ' Oh, we don't sell anything, we are a construction company'...
This mindset, apart from being mind blowing, is still rampant in British commerce, abhorrence to 'selling' and 'sales people'. Here we are living and working through a most challenging and uncertain economic climate. The news media dishing out daily recession updates, high unemployment, cut backs, business liquidation, and constant cuts in the public sector. We are also told that it is the construction industry that is holding back the economy by under-performance.
We don't sell anything is a mindset to adopt if you want annihilation. Every sane business leader and entrepreneur knows that nothing happens anywhere in the world until a sale takes place, and they are willing to admit that a sales person brings in the money that everybody else can live off. In this challenging and exciting business environment, the successful companies will demonstrate that to win, succeed, grow, provide employment and have happy customers the mindset is to be customer led but sales driven.
With that philosophy in mind, here are a few thoughts and challenges:
1.Does everybody in your company know that their jobs are dependant on somebody winning some business - because that is sales?
2.Is your company truly customer led and delivering what your customers really want?
3.Is your company really sales driven from the boss to the cleaner?
4.Has everybody in your company experienced some rudimentary sales learning?
5.Is there an enthusiasm to adopt the latest techniques in winning business?
6.Are your front line sales people, sales people or solution specialists?
7.What's so special about you and your company?
8.Does everybody in your company fully understand the two major reasons why businesses fail? :
==>They can't, won't or don't sell.
==>Not getting paid on time.
9.Are you providing your customers the cheapest, or value?
So...my last question; what are you going to do differently tomorrow?
Let me know.