Relationships Take Patience

It might take 10 tries before you finally get through to someone.

And it might take a year before you really develop a GOOD relationship with a customer. And you know what? This is completely normal in the the world of complicated and high dollar sales cycles.

Never:

👉 Act irritated or frustrated if they have to cancel or reschedule a meeting.
👉 Tell them you're going to be "in the area" on a certain date and expect them to accomodate
👉 Get impatient if it takes them some time to review your quote/bid

It's all about being there when they need you, following up consistently but in a polite way, and providing them with VALUE. If you can do that, you'll create that great relationship you need.

Thoughts? Let me know!

The Happenings

By the way, last week I got to meet with the Agfa Radiology Solutions team. I did their training in January and they’ve been working hard ever since so it was time to check in, get updates, and answer questions.  One of the best stories I heard came from a very tenured sales rep who was getting concerned when he wasn’t hearing back from a customer right in the middle of a project.

During my training we had covered video messaging, and he decided he would try it, as a new way to reach the customer. The problem was that it was very outside his comfort zone and it felt a bit overwhelming. He drove in his car to his church parking lot and just sat there, doing take after take until he was happy with it. He sent it off and he waited.

At first, he thought it had gone unnoticed, but then one day last week, he finally heard from the customer, who apologized for the delay and explained that he’d been pulled in a different direction temporarily but was ready to meet again and get everything moving.   I love that the sales rep took the time to learn a new skill and was brave enough to send it. His hard work really paid off.

Here’s a few of the other big wins the team shared:

👉 They noticed they’re getting to have more meaningful conversations much quicker than before using the wedge question techniques I taught them.
👉 They are sticking to a consistent call/prospect schedule of every single Wednesday (just think of the power of this, after several months!)
👉 Their more efficient email templates are really paying off.
👉 They are getting invited to have better conversations by focusing on the customer, and asking the RIGHT questions than the vendors who just give the standard elevator pitches.

There’s no doubt that learning new skills gives you new momentum. It gives new life to the job you do every single day. I see proof every time I do training with a sales team. Never stop learning!