Time is the critical factor in sales

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When I think of all the sales training I have had, or have learned about, most, to all, have been effective and well worth the effort. Yet, few to none, have focused on time. Time from the perspective of having more of it for selling, thinking about strategies, doing more research, analyzing my pipeline, and the list goes on and on. It’s presumed that once we learn new techniques or process, where many are delivered over a couple of days; we simply deploy them, mostly on our own, into our respective named accounts or territories. Time is generally not a key element in the learning.

A while ago, I was fortunate to have worked for a large, and highly successful software company, that sponsored some new, and innovative sales training on a select group of Account Executives. It was intended to change the game in how we accessed, and engaged with, C-level to shorten our sales cycles and increase our average order value. This training focused on how to prospect into very large, Fortune 500 companies, specifically aimed towards securing a meeting with the CFO. We learned over 2 heavily packed days, how to identify a good prospective company, identify significant corporate initiatives, and align that with our software solutions. This information was to help us craft strategic and value-based messages to help gain entry into the C-suite.

To do this, we first were taught to understand the inner workings of the corporation, especially into their financial health, and how it connects to funding key or strategic initiatives. The very bull’s eye we want as an Account Executive, so we can sell strategically as an advisor and not a vendor.

To gain this insight, we were taught how to understand annual reports (some 80+ pages), the shareholder letters, the 10K, the MD&A, where the strategies and corporate initiatives reside (Management Discussion & Analysis), Balance sheets and Income statements, Quarterly earnings calls and interviews, analysts’ reports, and competitive analysis. We did this over a 2, sometimes 3 years.

The challenge was that the learning curve to be proficient in corporate finance, terminology, ratios, and the like for a $5-50B company was very time consuming. We were expected to learn this overnight, then use our new knowledge to construct prospecting phone, email, and networking….to entice the CFO’s to meet with us.

I wholeheartedly believe in the deep significance of this, and continue to use it in my selling activities. But from a time perspective, I still look to get things done quicker so I have more selling time. On that note, I have seen, and used, a few devices to help me along the way. One was a Continuing Ed course in finance, or finding a reasonably priced tutor, many who are an ex-CFO, or joining networking groups where Executives attend, and are willing to share insights into how to enter the C-suite, or constructing a matrix of steps I need to take that systematizes my efforts, and helps to shorten my learning curve in obtaining this key corporate information. There are many ways to get the information and still save time.

I hope this was informative, and may prove to be helpful in your selling ventures.

Time is the critical factor in sales

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