• The sales managers often come in with a patter that is all positive. I saw it as B.S. …. in that they did not really believe it themselves, and both the sales person and I [the buyer] knew that he was ignoring a lot of
negatives.
DK – Transparency and honesty are always preferable to B S. The days of expecting that your overtly positive patter will gloss over real issues and enamor the customer (or the sales person) are long gone.
• The sales managers were often not open to taking suggestions, or, if they did, there was no follow up back to the customer.
DK – Could it be that some sales managers are so concerned with their view of themselves as the all-knowledgeable person that they come across as not being open to suggestions from the customers? One of the reasons for a sales manager to make joint sales calls is to hear it directly from the customer’s mouth. Sales managers should develop the habit of listening carefully to the
customers.
• There was often a tension visible between the sales manager and the sales person. It gave me, as the customer, a feeling that the relationships were rarely what they should have been.
DK – In my career as a sales person, I had a couple of sales managers with whom the relationship could be called “tense.” Frankly, I tried to avoid having them make joint sales calls with me. Perhaps it was because I felt the customer would pick up on that tension. Regardless, this is a sobering observation from a customer which should prod both sales people as well as sales managers to examine their
relationships and improve them if necessary.
• The sales managers were not aware of the problems that were previously reported to the sales person. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the “I’ll look into it” answer, and never heard back.
DK – One of the reasons to make a joint call is to let the customer know that he/she is valued by the management of the company as well as by the sales person...[Read More]
