sales relationships

The Cost of “Sales Now” Pressure

Jul 13th, 2010
by The Sales Cooke.
1 comment

One of the bigger stresses being applied to sales forces is the  pressure to find sales now.  The urgency to find sales, close deals, and get revenues back on track now, is enormous.  As a result, sales professionals have been wired to only deal with people who are ready to buy now.  And, they really are not educated or encouraged to develop a relationship that may benefit them over time.

What is the cost of this behavior.  A recent blog post by Eden Sunshine asks a very telling question:

“Why don’t businesses woo their prospects anymore is my question? Why won’t they take the time to find an ideal prospect and basically say in so many words, ‘I believe I can help you and am willing to invest in building your trust and confidence in me and when you are ready, I will be there for you?  Which approach do YOU believe will produce better results?”
I subscribe to the same mindset that Eden does–if your sales team were to take the time to effectively build a relationship of trust and confidence, your sales results would likely improve.  Until someone takes the pressure off salespeople to simply close deals or, engage them in a sales education program that teaches these professionals how to sell in this economy, businesses that operate in the transactional mindset will continue to be frustrated by their results.

Dave Cooke is CEO of Strategic Resource Group, llc an organization specializing in helping businesses increase their revenues through effective growth initiatives and employee development programs. His contributions and insights can be found on his blog posts, SalesCooke and Sustainable Revenues.  He has also developed a new program for sustainable revenues in a down economy, known as SuRF.  To download this case study go to: SurfWhitePaper.com.