Try raising the bar to eye level -- you'll be amazed at the results

By Jacqui Sakowski

In sales, differentiation is key. If you look, sound and act the same as everyone else, buyers assume that you are pretty much the same as everyone else, and that your offer is pretty much like everyone else’s. That’s logical.

Standing out from the crowd is always important, and it is never more important than right now. As rep after rep ups his or her prospecting efforts to make up for declines in a client’s usual business levels, the crowd is bigger and more aggressive. Companies are sharpening their pencils and working on tighter and tighter margins to try to stay in the game.

So your ability to stand out from this expanding crowd is paramount if you are to secure the business; or at least, get beyond the first meeting.

And it really isn’t as difficult as it might seem. My somewhat unscientific research tells me that to stand out from the crowd you need simply to raise the bar a little. For most sales professionals, the bar seems to be set around ankle height. They trip over it as they go about their business, and it slows them down. Simply raising that bar to knee level would give them bruises but likely keep them on their feet. The winners are the ones who set the bar at eye level and above. As they see the bar coming, they know to step out of the way!

The bar I refer to is the professionalism bar. It’s time to get back to basics ... or maybe forward to basics for some.

I have recently been conducting interviews and reference checks for a number of companies that are hiring sales people. (Yes, there are jobs out there!) I always include some past clients in the reference pool. As I review the feedback from the past clients, I am astonished at the evidence that they offer as proof of the applicant’s professionalism.

• They arrive on time for appointments

• They arrive with materials and information to support the conversation

• They follow up when they say they will

• They send the promised materials in timely fashion

• They get back to me with the answers they couldn’t provide in the meeting

• They create proposals that reflect the discussions we had

In short, they do what they say they are going to do. If that is all that is necessary to earn a rep a great reference when they seek a new position, imagine what you can do by truly raising the bar as you go about your job!

When I began my sales career almost 30 years ago, I set myself a standard for measuring whether I was doing a “stand-out” job. I sold power tools to small hardware stores for Black & Decker, who had myriad ways to measure my performance that were all focused on my sales numbers. Did I hit my dollar sales goals? Did I hit my product mix goals? Did I sell the active promotions? Did I sell in the products that were the subject of TV campaigns? How many meetings did I hold? How many miles did I drive?

My measure for my own work was how often I received job offers. Companies that employ territory or route sales people often ask their best clients or customers for recommendations of sales reps who do a good job for them. My goal was to be offered a new job at least once a month. I assumed that if my clients liked the way I took care of them, they would want me to be in their business life regularly.

With every sales job I have had since then, be it at the rep level or in the management hierarchy, I kept that measure of performance. I do to this day. As I achieved more senior positions I extended the time frame to at least once per quarter. So far, we’re holding good.

Raise the bar on your expectations of yourself and stand out from the crowd by creating raving fans among your clients and customers. Creating raving fans among your clients and customers requires a little more effort. A little more planning. A little more preparation. A little more energy. And it leads to a whole lot more reward.
 

My Personal Work Philosophy
1. Every day we should strive to have our best day at work
2. Every day we should strive to do our best work, no matter the circumstances
3. Every day we should challenge each other to perform to the full extent of our capabilities
4. Every day we should ask for the help that we need to enable us to
complete our work
5. Every day we should recognize the day’s accomplishments before quitting
We should do these things every day because to do less is to disrespect ourselves, our colleagues, our clients and our vendors.

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