The Sales Pitch

Today we had a chance to sit through a sales presentation for a Marriott timeshare. Having been in sales, sales management and sales strategy my entire career I really enjoy seeing new approaches and strategies. Of course going into a sales presentation knowing you are not buying makes it very unfair for the sales person but nonetheless very educational.

We were lured into the presentation with a $150 gift certificate to be used on the island we were staying at. One might say $150 is a lot of money but this is a very low cost for a face to face sales presentation with someone who is a qualified buyer. The one area they forgot to ask is, were we interested. In order for someone to be a buyer they have to have 2 requirements they have to be interested and qualified. You will not complete a sale if either of these requirements is not met. As we walked into the presentation we signed up and were given a number. The number was in a 5x7 picture frame so it was not something you could hide. The room we were asked to sit in was also set up for sales one small loveseat with a single chair directly across (couple vs. sales person). After all of the numbers where handed out the sharks were released. You began to see sales people scurrying through the rooms looking for their assigned numbers. Then our sales person approached us and asked if we could follow her as she took us into a small sales room. The presentation was as expected, directional selling letting people say yes as much as possible. The presentation lacked the pressure I was expecting. The sales person had broken English but I guess this could be expected since we were in a foreign country but this was mistake #1 in the sales process. Mistake #2 was she did not gauge our interest if we wanted to buy from the beginning. There is no need to try to sell someone something they do not need or do not want. Mistake #3 once she confirmed we were not going to buy she became less than professional and swiftly moved us out the door to our $150 gift certificate.

Although we had no intention on buying I would have to say the overall sales presentation was good. I actually left the meeting with a good understanding of their product line as well as a good sense of the sales person’s ability. We were presented an option that actually would have met all of our needs if we were going to buy and for that I commend the sales person. After all she really did listen to what we had to say and tried to make the best recommendation possible. If you are in sales make sure your customer is interested and qualified and you will save a lot of time and energy.

Career Coach

There are so many people in corporations who have true talent but never seem to make it out of their little cubical. It is true some people do not aspire to be any more than their current role and actually refuse more responsibility. Early in my career I would have said to eliminate this part of the work force. The truth is these are the folks who make the business go everyday. In this post I want to focus on the person who wants to advance but is frustrated because he feels he is being passed up for other candidates.

If you work in corporate America you have certainly run across this person and they might sit beside you today. This is likely the same person you hear say, "I do not get paid enough to do this job." This is the same person who comes in right on time or late and never stays past 5. Yet when a promotional opportunity arises he is over looked. I am no advocating that you need to work 60 hours to be noticed in fact I would argue the person who is working 60 hours has time management issues. I am simply saying you can only expect to get what you are willing to put in. If you are sitting at the blackjack table and you are looking to triple your pot but you only play the minimum it is unlikely it will happen anytime soon. If you want to be promoted here are a couple of tips that will help you get to the next level:

• Tell your boss your career aspirations and others around you
• Control you career have a 1/3/5 year plan with specific goals you want to achieve
• Work with a mentor (preferably someone outside your group that you trust and will be brutally honest)
• Invest in yourself (education, 360 evaluations, networking)
• Ask about new roles and challenges and being willing to push yourself into an uncomfortable situation

Most times people never do any of the above yet wonder why they are still in the same role waiting for the tap on the shoulder. Sure shoulder taps still do happen but not as often as they used to. No one is going to own your career more than you and if you are expecting someone to you better plan on being in the same cube for a while. After all your manager probably owns her career and this is why she cannot own yours too.

Meetings

Have you been on a project team when it feels like you are running around in circles? This is very common in corporate America and I have a few beliefs on why this takes place. There are people in the world who are always willing to provide feedback without providing solutions. These are the people that every organization should avoid. These are likely the same people who schedule 2 hour meetings without an agenda and let the conversation flow from topic to topic. At the end of the meeting the group usually walks out saying “what was that meeting about?” Then there are people who will push back for no real reason just because they think they are adding value. What they do not know is they are preventing the team from moving forward.

When working with a group you have to have a detailed approach and agenda before meeting. Set goals for the meeting and action items at the end of the meeting. It is simply not good enough have a meeting without clear direction and purpose this is a waste of time. If you know someone who continually has useless meetings stop going you are wasting your time and the company’s resources.