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Solutions November 2005 
strategic
sales
By
Dick Gorelick
Your
One Chance to Make A First Impression
It’s
fascinating to ask a buyer and
a sales rep about their first
meeting. In most cases, a buyer
remembers the circumstances of
the meeting and a great deal of
the dialogue. There’s a
vivid memory of the first impression.
The sales rep, on the other hand,
frequently has a murkier memory.
Why?
The
salesperson is in prospecting
mode, focused on getting a foot
in the door and often not fully
aware of the impressions and perceptions,
positive and negative, created
during the first meeting. Some
of those impressions and perceptions
can be powerful and very difficult
to change even after many years.
An
example: To quickly establish
credibility with a prospective
customer, some sales reps state,
“Our company is experienced
at working with large accounts
that are demanding and have complex
needs.” The rep then names
a large organization recognized
by the buyer. Some buyers are
impressed. Others, however, react
negatively. They wonder if they
will have leverage at a printing
plant with a schedule dominated
by a well-known Fortune 500 company.
Sales
reps speaking to prospects should
be careful about the companies
they use as testimonials. The
difficulty is complicated by the
fact that prospects who react
negatively are unlikely to mention
their concern.
While
less of an issue in recent years,
a negative first impression is
often created by a salesperson
who believes the entire world
participates in “Casual
Fridays.” This is another
occasion when the real reason
the buyer shows no interest is
unlikely to be articulated.
This
column is inspired by a recent
survey of buyers in all industries.
Seventy-four percent of the respondents,
when asked what salespeople could
do to be more effective, had a
simple answer: “Listen.”
This response implies that the
sales rep ask questions about
the customer’s business,
meaning the overall business,
not simply printing needs.
I
can get homicidal when I ask a
sales rep what a client does and
the answer is, “4-color
work” or “mainly brochures.”
With this mindset, a rep cannot
know a customer’s business
well enough to suggest ideas for
more effective, productive use
of an organization’s printing.
Another danger of being perceived
by a buyer primarily in terms
of products is “slotting.”
This is the belief that a supplier
specializes in only one or two
types of product. Breaking out
of that mold, which is created
in the prospecting process, can
be difficult and frustrating for
a salesperson.
The
most egregious scenario is when
the rep adopts a strong selling
posture on the first in-person
call on a prospect and believes,
rightly or wrongly, that the buyer
should be willing to drop an existing
supplier and place an order with
a new resource after only one
sales call. There’s a name
for such an account. It’s
“bad credit.”
When
I mention this scenario, buyers
report that it happens frequently.
On the other hand, no salesperson
has admitted this behavior. This
may be further evidence that reps
may unwittingly or inadvertently
create strong impressions. Or,
it may reflect a lack of introspection
by salespeople about the reason(s)
prospects aren’t sold. There’s
a natural tendency to focus on
prospects that are sold.
But
buyers who aren’t sold may
communicate negative impressions
and perceptions to others in their
organization. Maybe they were
left with a positive impression
but can’t change suppliers
because of a corporate policy
or edict. Mentioning price during
the first or second meeting with
a prospect is frequently memorable
to a buyer. This may be successful
in the short term, leading to
an order. In the long term, it
may be the sole basis of the relationship.
Contributing
Editor Dick Gorelick is an award-winning
authority on sales, marketing
and business strategies for the
printing industry. As president
of the Graphic Arts Sales Foundation
in West Chester, Pa., he travels
extensively, consulting, writing
and speaking on sales training.
