A good salesman

Image courtesy of Pixomar

Be present at the right place and the right time. How do you do that? The answer is a bit counterintuitive, but the real answer is that the only way to even be allowed to be present, you should not be selling all the time. This is mostly applicable to account executives responsible for many accounts, or for a few major accounts with multiple stakeholders. Think about it for a minute, whom from your entourage, allows you to be in their vicinity and interact with them regularly?
The answer to that is quiet obvious, your friends and family. The reason for that is because your friends and family know very well and sense that you care for them unconditionally. This is the kind of relationship you should have with your professional network. Learn to genuinely care for your professional network and their personal concerns, their families, their lives and know their passions. 

You might be responsible for 10 accounts lets say, however, it is rarely the case that all 10 accounts need to buy your product or services at that instant, or all the time. However, you know that eventually they might need them, and based on your analytical skills, you know that it might be soon, otherwise, you would not be assigned those accounts or would not be investing your time trying to sell them anything. In addition to mastering and knowing the account inside out (new programs, stock prices, revenues…etc.), you have to equally know the decision maker personally. Care for him/her and build a level of confidence that he/she opens up to you with what they care about. 

It is always pleasant to have someone recognize and genuinely care for oneself. After all, these are the people you will be dealing with for years to come, so why not invest your time to get to be friends with them and though your primary concern is business, but there is no reason why it should be a dry relationship. I am not only talking about taking your client out of dinners and invite them to sport events, that’s pretty cool and enjoyable, but I am talking about having a regular friendly call or coffee with them just to discuss life and family (NO BUSINESS). 

This is a fun way of spending your day with real friends while having your employer fully supporting you and not minding it at all. Remember that it has to be genuine; otherwise, it comes out as cheap and phony. There is nothing wrong in being transparent about it to your clients actually. At the beginning, your client might ask you for the reason of your call, and you mention you just thought of him/her and that you wanted to know how he/she is fairing. Eventually, by keeping those regular check ups, and coffee breaks, you build a relationship. Your client knows very well that you really want to sell something to them, but they also recognize that you are a fun and genuine person who likes to socialize while working. 

Take the time to enjoy the little things that make your client happy and congratulate whenever possible (birthdays, marriages, vacations…etc.). If you do that, you will be allowed to be present when they actually need your product and they will not be thinking about the competitor.