If you work in marketing and haven’t worked in sales, there’s a important phenomenon you should know when you’re communicating with your business development professionals – call reluctance.
Call reluctance means the phone gets really heavy. Or that the car door just doesn’t want to open as quickly as it did.
This affliction – which I periodically had before and still have sometimes – is comforting for one simple reason: you can’t be told “no” by a prospect if you don’t pick up the phone.
You may be thinking to yourself, “This is completely irrational. Salespeople are motivated by money and they’ve been told the fortune is in the follow up, right?”
Not quite.
Salespeople have a financial incentive, yes, but I believe they’re motivated by something more substantial – doing a good job in solving problems for their clients.
If you haven’t “owned” a sales number, take a step back and think, “How can I help our business development professionals feel more confident? How can I help them understand our entire organization is standing alongside them, ready to support their efforts?”
Confidence = activity
Activity = successful salespeople
How are you helping instill confidence in your sales team?