3 Reasons Why Salespeople Get "Sent Down"
When it comes to “calling at the top” there are countless numbers of books available for sales professionals who are looking for ways to accomplish this. Any sales rep can find techniques on how to get past gatekeepers or executive assistants, how to deliver ‘value propositions’ that may or may not work and find statistics on how many touches it takes to reach Mr/Mrs C level.
When you look at this critical topic, it boils down to 3 main reasons on why salespeople struggle talking to the top.
- Comfort Zone- Do they feel like they deserve to talk to Mr/Mrs C level? There are managers all across the country who hear their reps inform them they WANT to talk to the right people but they aren’t. They have a desire to want to talk to them but deep down they are not committed to it. It is MUCH easier to call in at a lower level for a sales rep. The challenge here is this group has enough power to say no but not enough power to say yes. When it comes to breaking through this comfort zone are your people willing to risk and are they brave enough to call on the people who they should be talking to?
- Can’t speak Tribal Language-Strong salespeople have strong clients. Weak salespeople have weak clients. Unfortunately there are weak salespeople out there who are unable to speak the same language as Mr/Mrs C level. In today’s business climate time is of the essence. Being able to speak the same language is crucial to help them discover they NEED to invest time with you to find out if you can help. If they struggle to quickly find a compelling reason on why they might hire you but there is a shred of interest it is easy to send salespeople down a few levels and let someone else do the homework.
- Asking the wrong questions- This is very similar to #2. Too often salespeople are asking what I call “In the trench” questions. These are questions about whether or not widget or Service A is working effectively, speeds and feeds type questions or questions about how much money they can save them (FYI-this causes you to get commoditized). The strong salespeople are asking Business problem questions that are important to this level. If you ask “in the trench” questions you get sent down to the trench so they can answer them.
If you feel like the sales cycle for you or your company is longer than it should be this could be why. Your new prospects will be thankful as well because you can start helping them sooner.
