Profile of an “A” Salesperson: Do you have what it takes to earn top dollar in print sales?

Are there certain characteristics that all top-level sales people in the print industry have in common?  Is there a “sales” personality or “sales gene” that you MUST have to succeed in this uber-competitive field? Could it be that there’s a secret handshake and a guide book that only the chosen ones are given that ensures a successful sales career?  Well, don’t go looking for a secret decoder ring just yet, but it would appear that there are certain common features that are found in the best sales people, no matter what field they are in:
• They listen more than they talk
• They understand what they’re customers need
• They have a fire in the belly that never seems to burn out

Gary Cone is vice president of Litho Craft in Lynnwood, WA (www.lithocraft.com), and author of “Price Doesn’t Count…Getting Customers to Want to Buy From You,” which focuses on day-to-day selling styles and techniques, and also “Why Marketing? Building Momentum to Profit,” which explains the importance of the marketing function within the print industry. Both books are published by the National Association for Printing Leadership (NAPL). After more than 30 years in the industry, Cone has noticed more than a few similarities among top-level sales people. According to Cone, the “A” sales person follows three basic steps:
• Determine a need
• Provide a solution
• Then, give a price

Cone also identifies the three basic steps the average sales person follows:
• Try to get an inquiry
• Give a price
• Hope

Needless to say, one of these approaches is consistently more effective than the other.  “You see those three steps all the time,” says Cone. “The middle-of-the-pack sales person thinks, ‘I hope that customer calls me today.  I hope that price was low enough.’  He’s relying on a price to get his foot in the door – but it’s too late. The ‘A’ sales person will already have the job.”

Cone notes several characteristics that prove to be a sign of success for sales representatives who soar to the top, “They have the ability to sell on an emotional level, as opposed to an intellectual level.  They know who they connect with and will not waste their time with someone they know they don’t connect with.  The ‘A’ sales person also sells the whole idea of trust and security.  They have the confidence that when that customer buys from them, they know what they will be getting.  They sell from that emotional need of trust and security.  The ‘A’ sales person sells with a sincere interest and passion in what they are selling.  And you can tell instantly that the interest and passion they have is sincere.”

Cone finds that the sales person buried in the middle of the pack tends to approach the sale from the opposite position of the emotional approach that is so effectively used by the “A” sales person. “They talk about features and benefits,” says Cone, “the size of their plant, and what they are selling, on an intellectual level with facts and figures. The person in the middle wants to sell to anybody, anytime, anyplace, without any qualifications.  An average sales person will sell in a very mechanical format and is so anxious to respond to whatever the customer asks for, that they may not respond to what the customer really needs.”

“An ‘A’ sales person,” notes Cone, “asks questions and lets the customer give them the answers.  The middle-of-the-pack sales person makes guesses and assumptions as to what the customer wants.  And the ‘A’ sales person doesn’t just ask questions – he asks probing questions. Whenever the customer brings something up, they will ask for more details:  ‘what worked for you in the past and what didn’t?’ At some point, the customer will tell you exactly what they’re looking for.”

With so much focus on price in today’s printing marketplace, Cone points out subtle distinctions between the “A” sales person and the average sales person that can make the difference between building a relationship with a customer and selling a commodity product, “The ‘A’ salesperson understands that when a customer asks for a price, there is another question and a need behind that request.  They can ask those questions first and probe.  Then when they give a price, they can tell the customer how it provides a solution.”  Cone continues, “A middle-of-the-pack sales person will offer answers without ever learning what the customer’s real questions are.  They feel they have to have all the answers. The ‘A’ sales person will let the customer give them the answers.”

Cone also notes that there is a very fundamental, and possibly, unexpected difference between a top-level sales person and the average sales person, “The ‘A’ sales person understands the value of their own personal time and effort and places a high value on it.  He set goals, defines what a target customer is, and follows a plan.”  Cone adds, “The middle-of-the-pack sales person takes more of a shotgun approach.  As a result, when they take that approach, by law of averages, they will always make some sales, but then they look on any sale as reinforcement that what they’re doing is working.”

Says Cone, “The ‘A’ sales person will set goals. They know what goals they are setting and they know where the finish line is.  The run-of-the-mill sales person thinks they are setting goals, but they are setting them too short.”  There’s a sure sign, according to Cone, that shows the difference between the “A” sales person and the average rep, “If you get to your goal and you don’t have some extra dollars in the bank to show for it, then your goal was set at the wrong place.”

Another common factor among “A” sales reps is service.  Says Cone, “Each top sales person, in their own way, services the customer very well, even if they have a strong customer service department.  If they have a connection with that customer, they will follow up just to follow up so the customer has the feeling that they know what’s going on.  They just want to make sure that the customer is well taken care of.”

When all things are considered, Cone believes that there is something that seams to be innate in the best sales people, “I really feel that there are some people that have a fire in the belly to close the sale. If you’re missing that, you’ll be a great customer service person, but you won’t be able to close the sale.  The goal is to get that sale and have that P.O. in hand.”

Tom Moe is vice president of sales and marketing for Dailey Printing in Plymouth, MN (www.dailyprinting.com).  Moe comes from a varied background that includes paper manufacturing, paper sales and merchant management and marketing.  While he brings a different range of experience to his position at Daily Printing than some print industry “long-timers,” he agrees with Cone on several levels, “The most important value proposition an ‘A’ sales person offers their customer is an understanding of what the customer needs and taking care of it for them.  They’re looked at as printing consultants. Every one of their customers has a different need.  They know that ‘this is how they need me to be’ and can change it by customer.”

Moe concedes that there is no one particular characteristic that makes it easy to differentiate a top-level sales person from an average sales person, “The top account managers on my staff,” says Moe, “have differentiated themselves from the rest of the pack and they are all very different people.”  However, Moe finds that many of the best sales people are extraverted and like to be in a social setting.  Nevertheless, he notes that, “They listen twice as much as they talk and understand earlier in the process what expectations are.”  Moe adds, “They manage the customer’s expectations well, and, because they understand the manufacturing process, they can relate that back to the client.  That way, the customer is never unhappy.”  “One quality,” Moe notes, “where the ‘A’ sales person has it over other sales people is in the details.  They keep track of the details, but don’t get bogged down in them.”

Moe makes an observation similar to Cone’s thoughts about how the “A” sales person appears to place value on their own time, “They’re great managers of their time. They know what’s important and don’t waste time on things that are not. They don’t waste time on things that aren’t going to bring in work.”

Average sales people, or “C” students, as Moe calls them, are constantly wasting time.  Says Moe, “With “C” students, it’s always about transactions. They are stuck in a price, price, price, transaction world.  They are so focused on being cost-competitive, that when the job is delivered, it’s often not what the customer expected.”

“The ‘A’ sales person treats customers differently,” Moe notes. “Over time, the ‘A’ sales person understands that it’s not about the job or the transaction.  He understands that it’s a relationship.  If it’s not transaction-based, there’s less transaction pressure.  He is involved early, and has time to get the job in and out the door.  ‘A’ sales people don’t have to have the lowest price because they bring value to the customer.  They get the relationship focused on the big picture – not individual transactions.”

Could it be that there is some kind of training or background that gives one sales person an edge over another?  Moe explains that some of the best sales people on his staff started out in customer service, but he also credits each of them with having that “sales rep gene.”   Says Moe, “They started out in customer services and estimating and moved into sales support and learned sales from other people. They learned the business and became valuable sales reps.”

But what about career advancement?  If a customer service representative can become a great sales person, can a great sales person become a great member of the management team? “Focusing on sales administration kills the quality that made them a top sales person,” says Moe. “Doing performance reviews and account reviews kills the fire that drives them.  An ‘A’ sales person – a really, really good one — is proud to be a sales person forever. They think ‘I’m one of the best that there is.’ They don’t have a guaranteed paycheck every month. But that’s part of what drives them to get up every morning and look new clients or new business with existing accounts.”

Darlene Byars is vice president of sales and marketing for Brandon’s Printing, located in suburban Atlanta (www.brandonsprinting.com). Byars, who comes from a marketing background outside the print industry, has been with Brandon’s for 10 years. Byars’ views about whether a great sales person can move into management are similar to Moe’s, “The drive is too great. A true sales person always has to have that hunt. The reasons people are in sales are the money and the hunt. It’s because the amount of money they can make is endless — and management just doesn’t have that.”

Sales people with a “Show Me the Money!” mentality catch Byars’ attention when she is trying to separate the average sales person from the upper echelon for new hires.  Says Byars, “One indicator when I am interviewing a sales person is the way they answer the question, ‘How much money do you want to make?’ When I ask a sales person ‘how much money do you want to make,’ the good ones tell you ‘a million dollars.’ The others say, ‘you mean a month? or a week?”  Byars adds, “They’ve got to be hungry!  A really good sales person is always hungry, even when they are making a ton of money.”

Byars also believes that, when it comes to printing, sales skills do not translate from field to field.  Byars explains, “I’ve never hired anyone that did not have printing industry background.  My last hire came from the paper industry, and she’s excellent. One of the things that makes print sales so different is that it’s extremely technical. When you ask a prospect ‘how many colors’ and they say ‘all the colors’ and ‘what kind of paper’ and they say ‘any paper,’ you have to have some experience in the industry to answer those questions.”

Byars adds, “Printing sales people are so unique. You have to be so hands on.  When you sell a computer or a copier, you don’t have to be so hands on.  When you deliver a copier, if it’s not correct, you don’t have to blow up the copier and start over.”

According to Byars, there are two key factors to being a top-level sales person – working smart and keeping the pipeline full.  Says Byars, “I think the key to selling is that you have to work smart because you have to multi-task. It’s about cold calling and keeping your pipeline full.  You’ve always got to have stuff out there.  You can’t be waiting for the phone to ring.  Our top sales people do cold calling every day. You have to always have lots and lots of prospects.  It’s a numbers game. It’s about working smart and closing the deal.

Should every sales team be packed with superstars or is there room for an average “Joe” in the sales team line-up?  Can every sales person learn how to be a top-earning sales rep? According to Cone, “Not every sales person is going to be a five-star sales person, but maybe they have other qualities that you need. They’re going to plug along; they’re going to be steady; they’ll show up every day, and they’re going to relate to certain customers.  If the real winners only make up the top 10 percent of the sales force, there’s room for others, too. They enjoy selling.  They have a great personality.  They just don’t sell very much. They’re always cheerful — always up.  For that reason alone, they’re worth having on the team.  It’s about trying to get the right mix.”