You paid the price. You did your due diligence which included; attending meetings, passing out business cards, swapping leads, and building referral relationships over massive amounts of coffee. Then, while talking with one of these important lead swapping partners, you find out they bought from a competitor. What’s up with that! Why wouldn’t your sales network partner have come to you first?
I was in a meeting the other day and a long time friend and I were talking about a mutual acquaintance and fellow sales professional. I could tell my friend was genuinely impressed with this person. He asked me what I thought about her. I explained “while she is definitely a good solid salesperson she’s not a great salesperson in my eyes”. This came as a complete surprise to my colleague. He then asked “then what is a great salesperson to you?”
Over the years I would bust my behind with lead generators, network meetings, relationship building, lunches, Starbucks, etc. to get a qualified lead for my sales team. “Keep me in the loop” is the only prerequisite I ask in order for them to receive these sales leads. Simple right?
While commuting this morning, I was listening to an editorial piece on the concerns about students not raising their hand during class at school. Apparently, a local school has decided to no longer have students raise their hands to offer an answer. They feel there’s an issue with only some students answering. Their solution was a simple one. Teachers will randomly choose students and ask for answers. On the surface it makes sense, I guess. Equal opportunity and all that. Unfortunately, I hate to tell them but it probably won’t work as I have experienced low meeting participation in the business world and calling on them randomly was a disaster.