On the horizon

'What ifs' for consideration

Posted

One of the best habits to develop in the sales world is to make ONE MORE sales call before you wrap up the day.

Countless good things happen – regardless of the day or situation – when you squeeze in one more sales call (and, I truly mean a call) at the end of EVERY day. 

At the very least ...

... You let a customer or prospect know you are interested and care.  [Don't forget it is the heart that drives sales, not the brain!]

... You actually speak with a customer or prospect and learn something that will allow you to be more valuable or closer to closing the sale.

... You can THANK them for their business (even if only a voice message it would have value!)

... Or, heaven forbid, you a-c-t-u-a-l-l-y sell something!

All good, right?  You bet.

If we applied this ONE MORE good business behavior to other operational issues, would the same positive outcomes occur?  Let me toss several "what ifs" against your wall to see what you think.

What if?

  • You squeezed in a visit with just about any colleague or co-worker before heading out for the day?  Asked them what was going well, not so well, what delighted or frustrated them?  What they would do differently if they were in your shoes?
  • At the end of every day you spent time identifying ONE THING you no longer needed to do?
  • You or the appropriate person in your sales department spent time at the end of EVERY day simplifying your rate card or pricing structure?  It matters not whether you are selling 30-second spots, column inches or widgets, we should all strive to make it easier to understand what we are selling from the customer point of view!
  • Each person/reporter in our newsroom called a source or reached out to someone cited in an article and asked, "... did we get it right?" or "... what could have conveyed better?"
  • Everyone in the company asked themselves this one question – "Before I leave today, what ONE THING could I do that would make tomorrow better?"
  • Since there are almost always positions to be filled or new hires to consider, what one reference could you call to more fully vet the prospective new colleague?
  • Just about every company has vendors or suppliers, right?  I prefer to characterize them as "PARTNERS" but no matter; what if you called just one a day (a week would work just as well?!) and thanked them along with asking, "... what could we do to be better partners?"
  • Would it be a good idea to call ONE lapsed subscriber/customer and find out why they left and if there was anything to be done to get them to give us a try again?  Or, to call a long-term subscriber merely to say "thanks!"
  • Or, systematically call the Top 100 local customers and ask them, "... What is the #1 challenge you face?" regardless of any relationship you currently have?
  • And, what if all these questions (and the dozen more I hope this stimulated!) were entered into a database and analyzed over time to see if any patterns were revealed or opportunities identified that suggest action NOW?
  • Finally, what if the entire organization got involved?  I don't care if we're talking about a small weekly newspaper in a community of 7,500 or a major metro in a city of millions; if you keep up these ONE MORE practices over time, even small steps eventually cover a GREAT deal of territory.  You know that – are you living it?

Do any of those "What ifs" resonate?  Maybe you have some of your own. What if every On the Horizon reader truly did pass along their great idea(s) for publication here and others benefited?  What a lovely notion ...

S.W. Papert, III is president of Wormhole LLC.


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