When was the last time you went into a restaurant, and the server told you that you would be having the crab without even giving you the chance to look at the menu? It sounds absurd, but it is exactly what buyers experience when exploring solutions in manufacturing sales every day.
Sales in the manufacturing industry can feel like a page ripped straight from Dante’s Inferno – “abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” That might be a bit overdramatic, but you don’t have to spend much time in the manufacturing space to understand that the struggle is real.
Sometimes the industrial manufacturing sales world can feel like a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole. Challenges and obstacles are constantly popping up, and more reps than ever are struggling to earn a seat at the table and drive results.
In real estate, the saying is “location, location, location.” In the world of technology manufacturing sales, location is replaced with the word “access.” Access is critical for any sales organization, but in the technology industry, it has become the single most important factor that determines sales success.
Your reps may be great at peeling back the layers of each organization to find the right decision-maker, but how do they overcome objections and a meeting? Chances are there is a gatekeeper that is ready to throw up one objection after another, all in an effort to filter out the riff-raff and not waste the decision-makers time.
“Selling doesn’t begin until the customer objects.” Sound familiar?
Let’s face it, sales teams spend countless hours each year role-playing, analyzing customer discussions, and more – all in an effort to improve their effectiveness at overcoming objections.
The sales landscape is constantly shifting and there are a million different perspectives on how you should be coaching your team and ensuring success. Sales techniques, technology, handoffs between sales roles, quotas, and more are constantly being juggled. A rep’s job is simple: don’t drop the ball.
