Through each of our sales actions, our interviewees are permanently rating us, forming an image that tells them what the company is like and the products or services that we represent.
It is not to be alarmed, especially if we are playing a true and efficient professional role, backed by a management that meets our appropriate profile for the position and, very especially, by the training we have received in the company to develop an efficient activity of which vital income for the subsistence and development of the organization arises.
How is this image of us formed in our clients?
Since we first contacted each other, whether by phone, in person or by other means of communication, in the mind of our new potential buyer, perceptions about what we do, express, gesture, etc., are produced in the mind.
The consequence that each one of our behaviors generates, according to their quality, ubiquity, efficiency and effectiveness, when perceived by our interviewee, he / she registers them in his mind under "certain proper synthesis labels" according to the positive, dazzling, efficient, trustworthy, etc., in which you have perceived them on such occasions.
That label assigned to us by each interviewee will represent the image that has been formed of us and will be recorded in their immediate memory (RAM) or in other mediated records (hard disk) of their mind, significantly conditioning what we can achieve with them in the future in our sales management.
Accordingly, we are faced with two dilemmas to resolve regarding the most effective characteristics that a profile should have to better contribute to the sales results that are pursued through management.
What the current or potential customer expects from the seller
It would be very intrepid to define what the ideal profile should be to achieve sales management success for the universe of products and services that require their sale through representatives.
However, we can analyze certain essential aspects that contribute significantly to this purpose, in such a way that each specialist can adjust it to their own management and reality.
1. Suitability. This expression represents the essential aspect of a professional salesperson, which means the wealth of knowledge they have regarding their own products or services and their competition in direct relation to the satisfaction or solution they provide for the needs or problems of their recipients.
This strength is not acquired through poses but through deeds. Each expression, its content and form, backed by a solid and deep knowledge, is the only thing that can convey an image of trust so important that it is perceived when the sales representative advises, recommends or suggests the best alternative or alternatives that your interviewee requires..
The correct selection of the thematic contents to include in the initial training (1) of said representatives is the only one that allows the organization to ensure that the desired image, both in its form and in its essence, can be achieved.
2. The profile regarding what it represents and sells. Herein lies one of the most widespread errors in traditional sales management that arises when a representative is incorporated and put into office without having a correspondence with what the company wants to transmit with its management in the market. (two)
When there is an "ideal profile" in each organization, there is a highly effective tool for the selection and incorporation process of its best salespeople, which will allow generating a profitable investment in their initial and continuous training throughout the time in which belong to the team.
What is the image we want to convey?
This is the other dilemma faced by every organization that is geared towards successful sales management.
The greater clarity with which this is defined by your CEOs will directly contribute to the consequences that arise from applying it in the selection and training of your sales representatives.
In traditional management structures, and given a lack of definition, the result that is obtained is usually as disparate as the different profiles of its representatives to the sales team in the absence of an ideal profile that contributes in this regard.
Conclusions
All the desires that do not materialize, simply remain in expressions that end up being a mere set of "good intentions."
If the executives of the organization's executives are aimed at precisely defining this important aspect of their business strategy, it should be noted that this implies defining a series of aspects that deserve to be deeply analyzed, especially if the result of quality, consistency, productivity and profitability it is in the wishes that they aspire to materialize through their sales representatives.
© Copyright 2008, by Martín E. Heller
