Smart Sales Reps Prioritize Accounts
My grandmother used to tell me a story about how early during her marriage, she got pulled in to doing a lot of volunteering with some friends from church. She hated to say “No” when her new friends asked her to do something for them. It almost seemed like a job to her, and she was finding herself spending all this time away from her kids, doing all this volunteering, but she was happy to do it because she felt lonely and wanted to make some friends.
The concerning part was that these friends never seemed to invite her to do anything OUTSIDE of these volunteering efforts. They clearly spent lots of time socializing and enjoying cocktails in the evenings, but she was never included. It finally occurred to her that these weren’t her real friends. She was prioritizing the wrong people.
I always thought of this early in my sales career when a wise mentor advised me to make a list of my A, B, and C accounts. Smart sales reps don’t just float along without a strategy, hoping something will stick.
Smart sales reps make a list of the “low-hanging fruit”. These are friendly accounts that might need your products sooner than later, and already know and like you. These are your A accounts.
Next are the B accounts. These are tougher. They might be needing equipment/services soon, but are friendlier to your competition, or aren’t as familiar with you.
Last are your C account. These are UNFRIENDLY to you for whatever reason. Maybe they’ve had a bad experience in the past. Maybe they just LOVE your competition. They’re going to be very tough to crack.
Once you have this list, make a strategy. DO NOT IGNORE YOUR C ACCOUNTS!! C accounts are a perfect place to perfect your sales skills. You can try out different strategies, subject lines, discovery questions, etc and find what works. Plus, you never know when things will change with them. Stay in front of them anyway, even if know they’ll be tough. Never prioritize them over your A accounts (like my grandmother did), but still don’t ignore them. They have value too, in moderation.
Next, prioritize your A accounts. Make sure you don’t leave a good deal on the table by not realizing what a golden opportunity you have in front of you. And lastly, make sure you give some attention to your B accounts too.
Bottom line: a smart sales reps identifies all accounts, has them categorized, and makes a plan to tackle some of each category over a strategic period of time.
Floating along without a plan isn’t smart. Spend the time you need to make sure you’re working a viable strategy.
Have you ever done this? Tell me what works well for you!
