I knew and learned very young what "sales strategies and incentives" are, but in the first stage I misunderstood them. Fortunately, with errors, deviations and a good share of work, they still worked for me, but if I had not let myself be carried away by youthful enthusiasm, sooner I would have achieved success and this is what I will tell you next, with the idea that deviate from your goals.
In the 80s I had the opportunity to enter a Social Security Institution as a Sales Executive, where I made friends with 3 experienced and successful vendors, who helped me in my first steps and taught me that "their sales strategy", It consisted of gambling 100% for meeting their daily goal in the “morning shift,” which they were proud of, because it worked for them and they met their daily and monthly goals, so I paid attention to them and very soon began to have my first results.
These "successful" vendors using this strategy had a reputation for being hardworking and compliant. I say "successful", because from my first day I always saw them stand out on the sales blackboard, which was used to record daily sales back then and I said to myself, " that's what I want to achieve ", what I let them know and shortly afterwards they invited me to participate with them, revealing 100% their "sales strategy", because until that moment they had only told me the first part.
When I got to know the second part, it seemed risky and challenging, but since they were achieving the expected results, I accepted the invitation. This consisted of the fact that they planned the day before, so the next day they were very clear about where they would start, which effectively made their "morning hours" very productive and fulfilled all their goals.
You will wonder what the “second part of the strategy” consisted of… Now I explain it to you: At the end of the morning shift, the 3 of them met for lunch at a restaurant in Valparaíso, at 2:30 pm. After lunch, they cleared the table and deposited their morning sales on it, which were reviewed by the other 2 vendors who participated in the strategy.
If this seller's sales did not meet their daily goal, they should immediately leave the restaurant to continue the afternoon and fulfill their commitment… As it was a pact they had between them, they strictly followed it. If indeed the sales they deposited at the table complied with their daily agreement, that seller was "authorized by his other 2 colleagues" to stay during the afternoon at the same restaurant "playing Pool", which from their perspective was an "incentive and a prize to fulfill ”.
Thus 10 months passed where most of the days the 4 vendors could stay enjoying the "incentive" during the afternoon, because we had met with us, with our families and with the company, until the moment came that due to my good results I was Invited to take over the sales supervision of this same team.
Obviously I had to withdraw from this "strategic alliance", at which time I made an agreement with these 3 vendors, which consisted of having my authorization to continue developing this agreement every afternoon, if indeed all 3 met their goals for the day, what they did for a long time more.
All this true story I have revealed just to show you that deep commitment strategies really work when you do your part. I am also clear that if we had used all day for sales together with these sellers, that period would have been much more productive for each one of us and for the company, but we were satisfied with the fact that we met our monthly budgets and exceeded our goals. of the company.
The positive thing that I extract from this "experience" is that it helped me to grow and to ratify a formula for success in sales and that I summarize below:
- Plan your next work day, the night before. To do this make sure you never lack prospects and future interviews. You must be a permanent fighter of your strategies, know your products and an expert in sales techniques. Set clear and challenging goals, be demanding of yourself, do not be distracted until meet and then have your moments of relaxation, but never in productive hours.
The names of the vendors and the restaurant, I will reserve them because they were part of the demands of the "strategic agreement".
A hug, Jorge Ávalos C
