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Filed under: Tip of the Day
Ad specialty distributors often spend so much time on tasks that don’t involve selling – fulfilling orders, following up on invoices and talking to suppliers, just to name a few – that they neglect their main objectives. Yes, you need to create as much time in your day as possible for dealing directly with clients.
Carving out time for prospecting, cold-calling, following up on sales proposals and crafting new promotional programs for current clients is vital for distributors. You can’t get so caught up in other administrative tasks that you forget the thing that’s most important to your business: bringing in revenue.
Here are four tips to ensure you’re spending more time selling. These come from Scott Gingold, CEO of consulting firm Powerfeedback (www.powerfeedback.com), who specializes in helping businesses prioritize their time and go-to-market strategies.
- Get up early.
“A lot of businesspeople you deal with today are starting earlier,” Gingold says. “A lot of times, people have to get out of the mindset that the business day starts at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. It doesn’t. It starts earlier than that. I try to schedule myself a 6:30 a.m. coffee, 8 a.m. breakfast, another coffee at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. lunch.”
- Don’t be a slave to e-mail.
“It’s easy to fall into the trap of checking e-mail every two minutes rather than setting up a schedule for it,” Gingold says. “Have selling time, whether it’s on the phone or face-to-face.”
- Consolidate appointments.
“If I’m getting in the car and have to drive 10 miles, I’d better be looking at that map and saying, ‘Who else can I see?’ even if it’s just a courtesy call,” Gingold says. “If you’re right there, you might as well meet a current customer.”
- Reinforce a positive attitude.
Sometimes distributors shy away from selling because they’ve come to fear rejection. Turn that around by focusing on current clients that appreciate you and your business – the change in tone should help your confidence level. “If you’re getting doors slammed in your face, pop in somewhere that loves you and loves your company,” Gingold says. “You’ve got to keep pushing that rock up the hill.”
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