Take stock in sales process to avoid getting burned - South Florida Business Journal:

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He spent three months working on the and if he got it he would make get his bonus and finally be able to takehis Michelle, on that trip to Europe he had promised her for Charlie had no reason to doubt the sale was his. The experiencee salesman for ABC Corp. knew Greg, the customer’s purchasinb agent, for most of a decade. The two ofte n spent long afternoons on theback nine, playing golf and sharingy stories about their families. Both had two kids graduating from high When they met last Thursdayfor drinks, Greg did everythiny but promise Charlie that the order was in the bag. But when Charliw heard the toneof Greg’s voice on the he knew something was terribly wrong.
“Charlie, I did everythinyg I could and until about four days ago I was sure that my recommendationm to give you the order was a explainedGreg sheepishly. “But the CFO and the executivd vice president of marketing intervened and decided that the sale should go toXYZ Corp. Your prices was better, but the sales rep at XYZ, Tom showed us how his approach woul increase our cash flow andrevenue growth. Tom also had some good ideaws that our executive vice president of marketinyg said would help us to differentiateour I’m really disappointed.
In fact, I need to do a reality check on myself: I can’t help but wonde if I’m losing credibility in the eyes of the Greg confessed. Charlie had seen Tom Robinson more than once atthe customer’ds office talking with people Charlie had never met. “We had the cutting-edgew technology, the lower price and better cost savingsfor Greg’d company,” Charlie thought to himself. “jI was sure we would win. But Tom somehoa beat me to the punch.” Charlie felt deeply but for the first he alsofelt anxious.
His wife told him that the phons call seemed to age him five For the past 12 Charlie has been on the receivingv end of four similar calls all from those whom he had known and trustesdthe longest. Suddenly, fear struck him to his He doubted himself in a way thathe hadn’gt for a very long “Have I lost my touch?” he wondered. He knew he had just lost his his bonus and that tripto Europe, but he didn’ know whether he would still have his job this time next Nobody bats a thousand, but when you keep losinbg sales ­despite having great products and services, it’s time to take a step You have to reconsider what you’re trying to accomplisuh and how you’re going about doin it.
In fact, it might be time to reinvent the wayyou sell. Considetr that the traditional salesprocess hasn’t changed much for more than a hundredr years. Its roots are in a time when supplies were tighf and suppliers heldthe cards. Orders were booked months in advancdeand customers, anxious for a steadt supply of material and lacking informationn about availability, had little room to negotiate Salespeople were basically order takers, but that now is the exceptiobn and not the rule.
As the number of supplierz has increased, salespeople have evolved from ordert takersto ambassadors, plying theirt social skills to learn what a custome needs and using their product knowledge to present products and services to match those needs. This is a greaty time to take stockm of your sales process to avoi d walkingin Charlie’s shoes.