It happens all the time. A traditional sales rep has a decent conversation with a prospective client. The prospective client discovers they want help, and then a business relationship has started. There is an exchange of money for a product or service, and both parties appear happy in the end.
What seems to be the problem with this?
The prospective client could have been even happier if the sales rep didn’t let their own head trash about money affect their sales process. Sure, the sales rep won a new opportunity, but the problem is they left money on the table. And more importantly, they didn’t help that prospective client to the level they could have, which kept the client from getting even better results.
This happens for several reasons.
- The first (and most crippling) reason is the sales rep allows their own concept of money and personal finances dictate their comfort level when presenting the fix to the prospective client’s gap. Too many sales reps “sell out of their own pocket.” Their own perception of how much money qualifies as “a lot of money” gets in their way. They fail to realize they are talking to a business, not analyzing their own personal bank account.
- The second reason is simple. They fail to have the discipline needed to dig deeper and deeper in conversations to help that prospective client discover the complete impact of their problem. Because of these surface level conversations, the traditional rep has to deal with surface level budgeting.
- Finally, the sales rep doesn’t want to rock the boat and have the “opportunity” of losing the sale. So instead, they accept the lower sale and believe it’s better than receiving nothing at all.
Don’t let your sales team’s own concept of money affect how they help their clients. Would they want their doctor to not recommend all of the surgeries needed to help them live a long, fruitful, and healthy life because the doctor let his or her weakness with money get in the way?
Salespeople can be selfish without realizing it. They are actually doing a disservice to the new client. Help them dig deep, and don’t let their own concepts of money affect the correct fix to the problem. If this happens you will notice even happier customers for years to come.
