In talking with some sales reps recently, the conversation naturally turned to the outlook for business. They bemoaned the fact that competition was fierce, price competition had never been so bad and they weren't getting the support from their home office.

Most of those statements could be true. The question is: What do you do about it? There has always been competition and it will only get worse.

Let's face it: It's not easy being a salesperson. Your customers are more demanding than ever, you have more paperwork, constantly worry about your numbers and face rejection daily. When you don't make a sale it's always easy to shift the focus away from your own performance and blame internal or external forces.

One of the best distributor salespeople I've ever met conducted a self-analysis about why he didn't get a sale.

“I just wanted to figure out the reasons I lost the sale. Was it price? Did I not explain the benefits and features of the product? Or maybe I didn't have enough information about this potential customer,” he told me.

It's easy for a salesperson to blame others. Every sales manager has heard various reasons (or excuses): “They bought it cheaper,” or “Our marketing/promotional support is terrible,” or “They've got a relationship with an existing supplier.”

Many of those reasons could be true, but giving in to them can lead salespeople into a rut and cause them to use those excuses as rationales for why they're not hitting their numbers.

Often, salespeople have to look within themselves to determine why they didn't get the sale. It's a lot easier to rationalize why you didn't get the business than to admit you didn't make enough calls or didn't explain why this customer should do business with your company and why your product is better than your competitor's.

Various studies show that nearly half of distributor salespeople give up on a new prospect after the first call—yet it takes four to five sales calls before a new prospect makes a purchase.

Distributor salespeople who make those extra calls know more about their customers and can explain why buyers should do business with them will have the edge over their competition. And that will mean fewer excuses and more sales.

jkeough@reedbusiness.com