From Good to Great
What must sales reps do to become the very best versions of themselves?
By Laura Thill
Are great sales reps born to sell, or is it something they must learn? Selling probably calls for a balance of intuition and training, according to experts. But, without the right personality traits, reps likely won’t earn their dental customers’ respect.
Brian Sullivan, sales consultant and founder of PRECISE Selling, points out that if reps have a genuine interest in serving others, they have a better chance of gaining their customers’ trust. Great sales reps must have posture – an attitude, enthusiasm and a [sense of] pride, and the willingness to serve others in ways most people won’t, he says. That said, they also require PIC knowledge, that is, an understanding of the product, industry and competition. "Great salespeople set aside at least 30 to 60 minutes each week to learn something new," he says. Finally, top sales reps never wing it, he notes. "A top performer knows exactly what [he or she] is going to say throughout the call and is flexible enough to react as the call changes. Reps can be good without [adhering to] a formal sales process, but they can’t be great," he says.
What’s in the DNA?
You can train reps about their products, but you can’t train them to have good people skills or a great personality, says Daenene Nelson, a long-time telesales rep with Tiger Supply Inc. (Farmingdale, N.Y.). "[A sales rep] must be a people person and have a great personality," she says, pointing out that it helps to have a good sense of humor. "[A rep] must always remember to listen to the customer and get them what they want, not what [the rep] wants."
Great sales reps are honest, trustworthy, genuine, competitive, persistent and organized, adds Matt Buettner, a 15-year sales rep with Midmark (Versailles, Ohio). "Training is important, but there’s something to be said for these intrinsic characteristics," he points out.
Mark Frisch, president, Garden State Dental Supplies (Freehold, N.J.) agrees. Great reps are the type of people others want to listen to, he says. Successful sales reps must have a certain body language, charm and a winning personality, he notes, and "it is extremely difficult to train for these characteristics."
The role of training
Still others believe the most direct route from good to great is through a solid training program. "Reps must have an affinity for [sales] and enjoy having a relationship with their [customers]," says Tim Flood, a 16-year sales representative with Patterson Dental’s San Diego branch. "But it’s the training that takes a rep from good to great. There is no substitute for on-the-job training and mentoring. Great reps are able to identify what works for other sales reps, personalize it and then replicate it," he notes.
What, then, is the ideal training to cultivate a successful sales rep? Distributors need a plan and a process, says Sullivan. "Companies need to research and adopt an outside sales training process that is consistent with their selling philosophy," he says. "After training is complete, they need to fully commit to help ‘sell’ that philosophy throughout the organization. Sales training fails when sales managers do not reinforce that which was taught in the seminar or class. Reinforcement ultimately is not the responsibility of a training department or outside training company. It is the responsibility of the direct manager traveling in the car with the reps or sitting next to them on the phone. If managers aren’t going to commit to coaching and assessing the progress of each rep, then [the companies] shouldn’t spend a nickel on training!"
What are you selling?
Great sales reps know exactly what they are and are not selling. Reps who sell products probably will be less successful than those who sell relationships, note experts. "Great reps sell themselves first," says Sullivan. "Once a client believes that only one person can get [him or her] all of the answers [he or she] needs, regardless of what the product is, that salesperson owns the account." Successful reps who don’t have all of the answers, know how to find them quickly, he notes. The most valuable sales reps "own the relationship," he adds.
"Ideally, reps sell solutions to problems," says Flood. "Yes, there are products involved. But, your customers must like [their reps] before they will trust them, and trust them before they will buy from them."
"Ideally, sales reps sell themselves and their company," says Frisch. It follows then that headquarters must do what it takes to help its sales reps succeed. For instance, if a sales rep tells a customer [he or she] will deliver a product tomorrow, the distributor must do what it takes to support the rep, he explains.
When Buettner meets with customers, he tries to see the big picture. "I’m not just selling my idea," he says. "I need to understand what the [dentists’] dreams are and then determine how many products fit their needs. This means sales reps must listen closely to their customers’ needs, and then determine which products he or she can offer to fill those needs. "This drives any presentation," says Buettner.
Value plus
Reps must prove their value to their customers, says Sullivan. "Reps shouldn’t complain about getting undercut if they haven’t provided exceptional value," he says. "If they look, act and smell like an average sales rep, then their accounts will turn to price as a tie breaker." And, perhaps one of the biggest signs of an "average" rep is one who sells on price, he suggests. "When [a rep] has no talent, knowledge or skill, [he or she] only has price to use. The pro, on the other hand, delivers so much unpaid value, [he or she] can easily defend [himself or herself] against the discount junkie."
Frisch agrees. As a "small, local distributor, we have built excellent relationships with our customers," he says. So, for instance, on one recent weekend, a customer called Frisch with an emergency. "He needed a [specific] product for a procedure, so I drove into Brooklyn that weekend." It’s gestures such as this that help build a good relationship between the salesperson and the customer, he notes. And, a strong relationship "is what makes selling easier."
"If you want to be successful, you must work for it," says Nelson. That means, "going the extra distance" and being available and accessible to the customer. "When [my customers] order, they speak to me. If they have an issue, they speak to me. If they need help with a product, they speak to me. If I don’t know the answer, I will get it for them and call them back." It’s a bad idea to sell on price alone, she adds. "That tells you that the customer doesn’t care about your services, but just wants something cheap," she explains. "This customer [probably] will have no loyalty to you."
"We invented the concept of value-added service," says Flood. "Our customers have choices [as to whom they will buy products from]. We have the ability to help them in a comprehensive way." This means looking at the "big picture," he points out. "It’s not always just about bringing our customers great products, but also helping them avoid bad [decisions]." Indeed, because sales reps work with so many dental practices, they have an opportunity to share ideas about which solutions best meet the needs of one practice versus another, he adds.
First impressions
The sales presentation is the perfect opportunity for a rep to impress a customer with value-added service. And, practice and preparation are essential ingredients for a winning presentation, says Sullivan. "Prepare a list of questions you will ask, and engage the audience with those questions." Asking more questions is what separates a great rep from a good one, he points out. "Once a rep knows what an account likes, doesn’t like, thinks, dreams and absolutely despises, finding the perfect products should be easy. [Further], when your presentation becomes a dialogue and not a monologue, it will become memorable."
"A monotone Power Point can be the death of anyone," adds Buettner. "My presentation must be different and energetic. If others are confident that you believe in a product, they can believe in it much more easily." And, it’s important for both sales reps and dental customers to get hands-on experience with a product, he adds. "They need to actually push the button that moves the chair."
That said, no matter how strong the presentation, and no matter how much value reps can offer their customers, they should keep in mind that first impressions can win or lose a customer. While the sales rep is making that initial assessment of a dental practice, chances are the dentist and his or her staff are developing their own first impressions as well, says Sullivan. So, for crying out loud, reps should tie their shoes and tuck in their shirts, he says. Then, they should make some mental notes about how up-to-date the office equipment is and which brands the dentist uses. "But, if the rep walks into the practice and everything looks new and shiny, [he or she] shouldn’t make the mistake of saying, ‘These people look like they are all set,’" he points out. "They may be happy, but the rep can deliver ecstasy!"
Bouncing back
Even the best of reps have been known to lose a customer, and when that happens, they should regard it as an opportunity to learn from the experience. "Bill Gates said, ‘It’s fine to celebrate success, but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure,’" says Sullivan. "[When reps lose a customer], they should stop pouting, blaming and whining, and get to work learning what happened." Reps should ask themselves these three questions, he says:
- "What was I and my company doing that we should have stopped doing?"
- "What should we have kept on doing?"
- "What were we not doing that we should have done?"
The answers to these questions can help sales reps avoid losing future accounts, notes Sullivan. In fact, "these questions should be asked of their current clients now, before they fire them!" he says.
The life of a sales rep is not for everyone. It can be a roller coaster ride of successful sales and lost commissions. And, without right characteristics and the best possible training, sales reps can’t become the best version of themselves. "Sales training and internal reinforcement create confident salespeople," says Sullivan. "Companies that skimp on increasing the value of their greatest asset – their people – will never reach their [full] potential."
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