You've Just Started a NEW Territory from Scratch
Distributors are on the move. Many of them have made the decision to create a sales presence on the opposite end of the state, 100 miles down the road or in the next pocket of business. With just a few exceptions, your company is an unknown commodity; name unrecognized and without existing customers. You are literally starting from scratch. As you read through this, you will discover many of the same tips we shared for working a Tarnished Territory. I know it seems repetitious, maybe even preachy. Even Jenny, who edits my work and generally makes me look smarter than I really am, gave me a squinty look and said, “How many times are you going to cover this?” The truth is, when dealing with a friend’s success (and if you read this I consider you a friend), I always err on the side of safety or money. In this case, consider it money.
Now, the sad truth
The thousands (or even tens of thousands) who faced your issues either failed to follow a process towards growth or, even worse, prematurely gave up on themselves. Both of these unfortunate outcomes trouble me. First, the work associated with being a sales professional in our industry makes it one of the most personally and financially rewarding careers available. Many long-time sales folks share my view; we almost feel guilty that we are paid to do something as rewarding as helping customers solve important issues. Second, most salespeople lack both a process for growth and a mentor capable of helping them succeed. The mentor thing is tough.
There are hundreds of successful salespeople who have experienced the same trials, tribulations, and frustrations as you. Many were simply thrown to the wolves with little guidance. Unfortunately, many of them can’t help you too much. It’s not for lack of desire; they simply can’t and there are five reasons for this phenomenon:
1. Market conditions have changed greatly since those early days in a brand new territory. Believe it or not, there were territories literally thirsting for the knowledge and technologies they offered. Examples of these were the early days of Programmable Controllers in the Automation Industry, the advent of electronic drives and days of early adoption of many other new technologies.
2. Technologies routinely used by our customers have shifted; think cell phones, voice mails, and the internet, just to name a few. Just getting through to people is a major feat.
3. Cultural issues have morphed greatly. I believe “back in the day” people were more open to the personal interaction with new salespeople.
4. Customer workplaces and workloads have grown cramped. More work, less time, no receptionist to guide your efforts and direct you to the right person just because you seem like a nice person.
Perhaps the single most important reason these senior salespeople can’t help you is this:
5. The established salesperson’s workflow and daily activities have changed so much since they first found themselves in a new territory, they can’t remember what worked and what didn’t work. Very few actually had a process.
Why use a process?
Returning briefly to point five above, many of those successful guys started without a process; a good many still don’t have a process for their work. They were hard-working guys who thrashed around with customers and along the way experienced success. Hit or miss? You bet. Referring to points one through four, things were different… and, launching a new territory was far less expensive. Anecdotally speaking, companies were far more patient about getting results than they are today.
Since they lacked a process, many of the successful sellers today (yours truly included) haphazardly did what seemed natural for several years before they got their territory and sales mojo going. They did a lot of things; some worked, others did not. It took a long time to get traction. Following a process cuts down on the time required for success. It can cut the time required by half or more.
What is a process?
Here’s a simple description: Process -- a systematic series of actions directed to some end. Systematic is the keyword. Actions are repeated and measured for effectiveness. A true process has the following:⦁ A written and well understanding of how each step is carried out.
⦁ Points of measurement which allow for an objective understanding of how well the process is being followed.
⦁ Tools for understanding precisely the “middle step progress” along the way. Obviously, our end result (in this case) is sales growth. But since we sell in an environment which has a 6-12 month “sales cycle,” why not establish some measures for this “middle step progress” thing.
⦁ Management and coaching opportunities built-in. In other words, we can go to others for coaching anytime in the sales cycle; from the first appointment to solutions identified to proposal and finally, to purchase order.
How to get started in your territory
This heading was placed here for those who like to just skim down to the “good stuff” like starting your territory. If you are just skimming this and you’ve managed to miss my diatribe on why you need this, please go back and reread. If you don’t buy the concept of the process, you may want to spend the next few minutes doing something else. I’d like to wish you well. I hope you succeed and please give me a call when your territory is running smoothly. I will give you a full 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to tell me the errors of my ways. Moving on…
Everyone says you need to call on lots of people
The problem is you don’t have any customers, so how can you call on anyone? Back in the “old days”, the answer was by going door-to-door through some local industrial park or stopping off at every building that looked like it could be the home of a potential customer. They called these cold calls and lacking any other option, they were both brutally cold and necessary. Today, they are mostly a waste of time and obsolete.
Here’s your simple process. And… please send me an email if you have trouble with any of these.
Step One: Create a list of potential customers in your territory.
Where do you get this information? Business Directories, online resources listing businesses and other resources not only provide potential customer company names, phone numbers, and websites, they also provide a few contact names.
Step Two: Prioritize companies listed by those most likely to buy your kind of product.
If you don’t know which kinds of companies are most likely to buy your products, ask salespeople in other territories about their top 10 accounts. For example, if one of your colleagues does well with Acme Andvil company, search your business directory for other makers of anvils. Using Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) codes assigned by the US Government works will in the US, but most countries have a similar system (Canada calls their system the Canadian Standard Industrial Classification).Step Three: Create a spreadsheet of customers to call.
Let’s start with just 40 customers to call this week. They must be put into an order and called with no skipping around. The more information you have on each customer the better. If you have a specific person’s name, phone number, and email, that’s even better.
Step Four: Create a script for your calls.
Be prepared. Your calls are going to result in two distinct opportunities to communicate with the customer. The first and most common will be the customer’s voicemail system. The second and happiest outcome will be a real live conversation with the potential customer.
Your voicemail message should sound something like this one:
“Hello, this is Frank Hurtte from RHC. We provide mechanical solutions for companies like yours and I have recently been assigned to serve your company. I am calling today to set up a good time for us to chat. Give me a call at 867-5309, it will be brief and it’s not a sales call.”
If you actually connect with a real live person, your opener might sound like this:
“Hi Jackie, this is Frank Hurtte from RHC. We are a company that provides mechanical solutions for companies like yours. I have recently been assigned to provide service to this area. I would like to capture 15 minutes of your time to learn more about your company. This is not a sales call and I promise no sales pitches or product demonstrations. I simply want to learn about your company to determine if we are a good match. Can we set up a 15-minute appointment?”
Step Five: Call down the list for appointments.
I recommend you block off a day to run down your list. Calling each person in the order they appear. When you call, log the time and day of your call.
It’s important to understand that less than 20 percent of your calls will be answered by a real live human. However, if you log the time of the call, you get an idea of the better times to catch people at their desk. We have found the best times for catching people at their desks is around 7:30 am, 11:45 am and 4:00 pm. You may discover something different and without some kinds of record, you’ll never know for sure.
Step Six: Repeat phone calls will be needed – and are important.
Most new salespeople give a prospect one or two calls then give up. Research indicates today it takes approximately five to seven calls to reach a potential customer. Don’t believe me? This happens often, I call a person using this process and finally reach them after five calls and they apologize for being so busy or tell me they had planned to call back but forgot. Never have I ever had a person chastise me for being persistent.
Here’s how this works. After calling your 40 customers, divide
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| Of course, we highly suggest using a spreadsheet, but sometimes an old fashioned paper list is easier for notetaking. |
“I had a few extra moments today between appointments and wanted to give you a quick call back. This is Frank with River Heights Consulting and I would definitely like to capture a few moments of your time. My number is 867-5309. ”
The following week, continue to call these people using the plan above. This puts your calls out over several weeks and shows you are dedicated to speaking.
A few other pointers on making your calls a success.
Let’s go rapid fire on this one this to save time. Here are four points to consider (and/or reconsider):
1. Never start a call off with the phrase, “Hello John how are you today?” Nobody you know does this except for salespeople. Salespeople get told to quit calling.
2. Always leave a message. Abandoned calls are a pain and today most people have caller ID. They know you have called so no message smacks of a telemarketer.
3. Vary the times of day for your call to a single individual.
4. Never call multiple times in the same day. It sends the message you have nothing better to do than “bug” a potential customer.
Next Time
In our next installment, we will talk about the actual customer call. Just a hint – it’s not going to be a traditional sales call.
Shoot me questions, comments or emails. If you would like parts of this clarified, I would be happy to help.
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