Sales Process - Maximize Sales by Minimizing "Windshield
Time"
by Alan Rigg
Published on this site: January 13th, 2006 - See
more articles from this month
During the late 1980's I was a field sales representative
for a computer distributor, selling computer systems and peripherals
in and around Los Angeles, California. The traffic was horrendous,
and the time I wasted driving to and from appointments just
drove me crazy (no pun intended).
Sure, you could have cell phone conversations with prospects
and customers, but you couldn't write notes while driving
(unless you had a death wish), and you couldn't prepare proposals
and fax them. Plus, there was nothing like slogging through
traffic to attend a meeting, only to learn that the meeting
had been cancelled at the last minute.
Why did I spend so much time driving? The company I worked
for had a prejudice against salespeople spending time in the
office. They felt that salespeople should be in front of prospects
and customers as much as humanly possible, and that time spent
is the office was "wasted time". Many other companies
shared this philosophy, which meant that prospects and customers were
"trained" to book appointments with salespeople
if they wanted their assistance.
I have always been a true believer in the saying, "a
salesperson's only inventory is time." I felt that if
I could find some way to reduce my "windshield time",
I would be much more productive. Fortunately I worked for
a progressive sales manager, and he gave me permission to try the following experiment.
Whenever a telephone conversation with a prospect or customer
got to the point where it made sense for us to book an appointment,
I would book the appointment. However, instead of ending the
call, I would say something like:
"(Name), your time is valuable, and so is mine. I'd
like to make sure we make the best use of our time together
on (appointment date). If it's ok with you, I'd like to ask
you some questions prior to our meeting so that I can be as
well-prepared as possible. Do you have time now, or should
we book a brief telephone appointment between now and (appointment
date)?"
I found that prospects and customers were always willing
to make time to answer my questions, either right then or
during a scheduled telephone call. What questions did I ask?
All of the questions I needed to ask to thoroughly qualify
the opportunity! When I had finished the opportunity qualification,
I would say something like:
"(Name), we can still get together on (appointment
date) if you wish. Or, I could fax you a proposal in 20 minutes.
Which would you prefer?"
Do you know what? Not one prospect or customer ever wanted
to go ahead with our scheduled appointment! They were delighted
that I could fax them a proposal so quickly. They weren't
interested in having a meeting or seeing me in person - they
were interested in having their problems solved!
The end result of the experiment was that I made my quota
during my first full year as a field sales representative
for the computer distributor, and more than doubled my quota
the next year. When I was promoted to sales management, I
quietly ignored my employer's mandate that salespeople spend
most of their time in front of customers. Instead, I trained my sales team to
do what I had done, and my sales branch performed exceptionally
well.
Does that mean you should never have in-person meetings with
prospects or customers? Of course not! In-person meetings
can provide real value, especially when it comes to building
lasting relationships. The challenge is that most businesspeople
are extremely busy, and they want their problems solved as
quickly and efficiently as possible. If you can help them
achieve that goal, you will have the luxury of choosing mutually
convenient times to schedule stress-free in-person meetings.
In today's world, with the availability of e-mail, teleconferencing,
and web conferencing technologies, it is easier than ever
to sell effectively while minimizing windshield time. Use
technology to your advantage, and make maximum use of your
only inventory - time!
Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of
How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople
Don't Perform and What to Do About It. His company, 80/20
Sales Performance, helps business owners, executives, and
managers doubled sales by implementing The Right Formula™
for building top-performing sales teams. For more information
and more free sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020salesperformance.com
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