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I bootstrapped from a field applications engineer to capital equipment sales. It is pretty boss. A little over my head but things are going well  We're getting down to the wire, how are everybody's numbers for this quarter?
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Mar 11, 2014 21:55
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| # ¿ Apr 28, 2024 07:19 |
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PSS or any of the other descendants of the Xerox Method are pretty solid.
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Mar 24, 2014 23:52
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Xerox actually sold their sales method and its given rise to a variety of different methods. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solution_selling Obviously, it isn't a one-size-fits-all method but it works well for me. Also, I usually rely on winging it and having some structure to ground me is incredibly helpful.
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Apr 23, 2014 16:10
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Anyone have any tips for maintaining motivation while you are crushing it? Early into the half, I managed to nail a huge account so I was riding at 120%. With my pre-existing customers, looking to close the half at a little over 160%. Not bad. Gonna get a whole new target, but that's OK. I haven't been dogging it, per se, I have a wedding to pay for and every extra dollar matters. But I got lucky and landed a huge account and I'll admit that I've been lazier than I should have been since then. It's too late for me not to have a seriously increased number next half, but I have been trying to manage expectations about the repeatability of this kind of a deal. Trying to get back into it (got a couple of really strong prospects, things are going well) but it's hard to act hungry after an all-you-can-eat buffet. I've been moving, but less than I'd like. Well, that's not true. Yangming teaches that thought/desire and action are one-and-the-same. But that is where self-cultivation comes in. Any suggestions for how to act hungry when you are full? How to set-up the next half (especially after you've really hosed your numbers) without accidentally loving your numbers even more? Right now all I've got is the "aloof salesman game" to draw things out and accepting the attrition But that is a sloppy move and I'd rather get greased with the system.
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May 20, 2014 23:48
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It depends on what you are offering, but I wouldn't worry about that particular rep too much. Also ask them how their numbers are doing -- my guess is they aren't great. A big part of sales is navigating between what the customer wants, what the customer needs and what we can offer. Techs can finesse that last one a little bit but that shouldn't be the "go to" response. One thing you can do to help is arrange a conference call with the sales team for product training. Or possibly a one-on-one call with this rep (people usually don't like to be singled out, so a team call is probably better). If they keep needing custom solutions, it sounds like they may not fully understand the product they are selling. That leads to all kinds of weird panics where the rep has overpromised, so now it's your job to fix the mess they made with a custom solution. Oh, and it needs to be done ASAP of course. Part of it too is that a lot of reps think that engineers sit around all day doing nothing, waiting in reserve for a rep to call and "activate" them for a special task. Obviously, that is not the case. Politely letting them know that you are very busy so having more information from the start will let you better deliver what they need. But my guess is more training is needed. Talk with their manager about getting more training for them.
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Jun 18, 2014 16:17
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Honestly, I love it -- I don't know why I ever did anything else. Emotionally speaking, my worst days in sales are on par with my better-than-average days as a bench scientist. You just gotta put yourself out there (and have a massively underdeveloped territory, so customers are screaming for attention).
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Jun 19, 2014 23:33
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I love my sales job and wouldn't do anything else. My work/life balance is amazing, my paycheck, HOLY poo poo, a quarter's commission is more than I made in year at my previous job. The job I have now is easily the best job I've ever had, and it is a great set-up for an amazing career. While it is easily the best thing ever, sales is also something that no one imagines themselves rockin'. You know? My Dad was a salesman and I sure as poo poo didn't want to be a salesman. Now I am one and I love the poo poo out of it. But there is like, I don't know, an emptiness, I guess? Right now I'm channelling that emptiness towards climbing the corporate ladder because it is there. Also because my income has doubled every year for the last 4 years and I figure I may as well keep chasing that dragon for as long as I can. I mean, I'm already a baller were it not for the Joneses and I'm pretty sure I'm loving Jones' wife so even if he has a bigger house I still kinda win. But that isn't sustainable. So, long-term, what do you do? I can't bank on youth and exponential growth. Middle-management and having kids seems the standard response and I'm very amenable to that path, but let me know what else you've got. I like seeing my options while I still have the ability to decide.
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Jul 23, 2014 09:06
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Just do it. It is a high-throughput, low-yield process. There is no magic trick to it, it is just raw grinding. There are a lot of things you can do to improve your cold calling techniques but the actual experience of it is constant. If you can, mix site visits with phone and e-mail campaigns. That way when you are starting to get burned out on one, you can switch to the other.
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Sep 5, 2014 16:55
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I worked selling beer for a distributor in Brooklyn for a minute. It's a good, solid gig. Sounds like you have connections (I didn't). It was basically an easy job, though the amount of random fights you'll get into with Irish bar managers is surprisingly high. They are basically OK people and if you stand your ground, they'll like you a hell of a lot more than if you don't. Don't be worried about yelling back. Living in Oakland now, I imagine the Bay is a chiller scene than NYC. Find the nearest distributors offices and just walk in. Again, you've got connections, talk with the salespeople that go to your bar. I got into sales because I asked a salesman with whom I regularly interacted how to get into sales. He hooked me up. Didn't get me a job but got me into a position where I could get a job. It's like the Masons: to be one, ask one.
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Sep 7, 2014 06:15
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Yeah, I'd always go to the college gun range to pick up ROTC chicks. It was a good thing.
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Nov 23, 2014 19:47
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Kraftwerk posted:I've had enough of sitting here in my hidey hole. If I get an offer I'm taking it. The consequences be damned. I have three years banked on my resume with this company. I think enough is enough. I'm sure I can get a new job if I lose this one. At least I'll know for sure if sales is for me. That's the attitude you need. Sales is risky. Your base pay should take care of your rent and ramen. Commission is what you actually live on and your commission will be somewhat variable. But the drive to create the life you want is what really matters and what is so exciting.
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Feb 28, 2015 08:31
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I'm in a major valley right now. Part of it is my fault, I slacked off in a way I shouldn't have at my peak. That's my fault. It was a really high peak, so it's given me some time but I've been walking through the valley long enough that the mountain has passed beyond the horizon. It is just a flat plain of suck. I'll bounce back, but I'm feeling pretty low right now.
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Apr 25, 2015 01:29
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asio posted:Know any killers you can spend a day with? I've just finally managed to beef up a slow month and it's going to finish strongly, but I spent a day in the last week with this guy who's just the terminator. Acted like a hard reset on my brain and the high is going to kick off next month really well. Thanks! I work in the field so bad stretches can get isolating as fuuuuuck. I should have reached out to some of my people earlier. That really helped me get out of my funk and back to basics. I've still got a long way to go but now it feels more like I'm climbing the foothills in front of a mountain instead of stuck on the plain. Or something like that. If my numbers are around where the perpetual President's Club winner's are then at least I don't feel so bad. That said, I'm still new to the long-cycle high dollar sales world. If anyone has any advice I'll take that shot in the arm. I feel like I'm good at finding and initiating new leads and I'm confident in my closing skills. But I feel like in a long sales cycle there is a stretch in the middle where I could use some development. Any tips on the wining and dining phase? They are already interesting, they've spent a few grand and then it is sort of "where do we go now?" That may be my problem right now, I'm using a short sales cycle to validate them for a longer sales cycle? If I had to pinpoint a phase, that is where I am finding it fizzle. When there is a clear and obvious need it is pretty organic but unfortunately that market segment is pretty saturated right now. It's convincing new markets that there is that need for capital equipment.
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May 7, 2015 03:33
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