There are various reasons salespeople fail to develop new business. I’ve devoted an entire chapter to that painful topic in my soon-to-be-released book. Speaking of the book, thanks to many of you who continue to inquire about it. “New Sales. Simplified.” is complete and in production. AMACOM will be releasing it in September. Trust me on this: It won’t be a secret. You’ll hear more about it from others and from me than you could ever have hoped 🙂
One of the common reasons even good salespeople fail at new business development is because they’re too patient. They are always waiting – waiting on the company.
I see supposed sales hunters waiting for the upgraded website to launch. Waiting for new and improved marketing materials. Waiting for clear instructions. Waiting for leads. Really. Waiting for leads? Â Yup.
Friends, waiting is a recipe for new business development failure. Top-performers don’t wait. In fact, I usually see the opposite. True sales hunters are out in front, on the attack. They’re so impatient that sometimes they even get in trouble because they get too far ahead of the company. I love those guys. Wait for clear marching orders or a prospect to initiate with me? Are you kidding? Wait for a warm lead? Lead, what’s a lead? Â I make leads!
Passive salespeople who wait tend to end up late to the party and last to an opportunity. That’s another common reason sales reps fail to acquire new pieces of business. I’ll talk about that in my next post.
Sales is a verb (at least on this site). Stop waiting and get into action.