Welcome back! This week, we pick up where we left off in last week’s post, Sales 101: Reactive Sales Require Proactive Sales Behavior. This week, I want us to drill down on the behavioral change aspect that will allow you to survive and be productive in any economy. Grab some coffee, and let’s process what this means together.
Before we return to tips that will improve your proactive sales strategy, let’s quickly go over what is a proactive sales strategy and why these three strategies will guarantee success despite the marketplace behavior.
What is a Proactive Sales Strategy?
A proactive sales strategy is the only way to go for auxiliary products. You can’t wait for the client to come to you; you’ve got to practice these three steps for success:
- Focus on critical proactive activities daily and weekly to be top of mind of those you serve.
- Be consistent and serve without expectation.
- Become the best at serving those customers.
This model is about integrating and practicing sustainable sales techniques instead of reacting to the market. By doing this, you don’t sit around and wait for clients to contact you. Now we’re all caught up, back to the mission at hand!
The mission: Fixing your sales team’s key behaviors and activities. Overcoming the obstacle most companies face: hitting sales targets despite customers’ buying habits limited to procuring products only when necessary.
Be Consistent And Serve Value Without Expectation
The challenge with proactive behaviors and activities is that once people have hit their stales stride, they stop practicing proactive sales behaviors. This is why many folks have the negative outlook that sales work is a “Peaks and Valleys” profession. But let me tell you something:
It only boils down to being consistent and present with your clients.
Remember, it all starts with serving value to your clients without expectations. You cannot only come around when you have something to sell. This habit contributes to sales professionals’ lousy rap because some folks only call clients when they are desperate to hit that sales target and NEED to sell something.
Trust me, the clients are in on the joke, and they’re not laughing. You can’t afford to alienate your clients. You should only build strategic relationships with them.
Allow me to use this real-life lousy habit to show how you’re coming across. I don’t call my mom enough. Why? I am married with four kids and two grandkids and have several businesses that often require travel. I rarely get a chance to call my mom to chat with her. Unfortunately, I usually only reach out when I need her to help with the kids or have some last-minute updates. She has often reminded me that I only call when I need something. Allow me to be the first to say that’s terrible behavior on my end. Fortunately, she is my mom and loves me despite this bad habit.
Unfortunately for us in sales, our customers don’t have that same undying love or loyalty to us. Everyone is in it to make money, and there is always someone around the corner willing to give our clients what we won’t. This means we must earn that loyalty every day and every week. The good news is you only have to practice this system for as long as you want to be successful. Ha!
Be The Best At Serving Your Customers
Don’t be a donut dropper. Huh, Nathan? Let me expound . According to the dictionary of Nathan Jamail,
Donut Dropper
/ˈdəʊnʌt /ˈdrɒpə/
A donut dropper is someone in a personal or professional setting who’s literally only ever around when they need something but typically frames it as them offering you help.
Example of Donut Dropper in a sentence:
- My shop just burned down, but that Donut Dropper, Mark, only called to ask when I can order new stock to relaunch by business.
As my daughter would say, “Eew.”
Here are several simple tips to commit to heart so you’re not a Donut Dropper.
- Have a real sense of value and purpose when seeing prospects or clients.
- Visit your clients regularly.
A sales professional’s goal is to be good for business and enjoyable to have around the office.
- Don’t do a visit to ask for business. Instead, visit their offices to understand a day in their life and study their wants and needs.
- Go beyond the surface talk and standard business check-ins. GO DEEP! Invest some energy in understanding how to bring value to your clients and better serve them.
- Become the person they call for the little or big things. Do your best to lend a helping hand, no matter how simple the task.
Ultimately, you will find that your purpose will go beyond the product or service you sell, and your value will soon be your presence, energy, and friendship.
Final Thought on Proactive Sales Behavior
Proactive sales behavior means maintaining consistent relationships with your clients. It’s about offering genuine support and forming strong bonds with your clients. Operate with the ethos to:
Serve now, sell later.
It keeps us top of mind with our clients and, more critically, builds trust and influence with those we seek to serve. Always remember,
Our value is based on our impact, not our tools or products.
See ya next week!
Sales professionals have to stay ahead of the game by widening their knowledge. Please stop by my Amazon page to check out my bestselling books, The Sales Leaders Playbook and Serve Up, Coach Down.
