5 steps to being your company’s most valuable salesperson

By Michael Cornnell

Prospect like a Pro

Excelling at prospecting is one way to boost your sales output and put yourself on the road to becoming a sales MVP. Patricia S. Gaffney, president of Rainmaker Sales Support, St. Louis, shared some advice on the subject.

1. Have a Follow-up System

“My company does prospecting, and I would say the biggest tip I can give is that sales reps, even though the climate and the economy seem to be slow, they always go after the low-hanging fruit, they always want to have a one-call close and don’t go after the ones who aren’t,” said Gaffney. “They don’t seem to have follow-up systems in place to keep on a prospect in a persistent, professional way. And that would be my biggest tip.

“Sales reps hear ‘I’m happy with my current vendor’ and they never call them back again,” said Gaffney. “Well, happy is a subjective thing, and it also can be a very short-lived thing, and if you don’t remind them now and then that you want their business, they won’t think of you when it is time to change.”

2. Ignore Fancy, Go With What Works

You don’t need the latest-and-greatest $400 CMS system to prospect well. All you need, according to Gaffney, is something that works for you.

“There are all kinds of bells and whistles now,” she said. “But there’s nothing wrong with the old ‘put an index card in an accordion file and call them in January’ thing,” she explained. “The thing is to do it, whatever your system is. If you have a day planner, and you jot down ‘in three months call so-and-so,’ if it works, use it,” she said. “People get caught up sometimes thinking they need a software program, and you don’t, you just need some type of reminder to call them periodically.”

3. Know Your Close Rates

Tracking your close rates is an easy way to see how much prospecting you need to do in order to make your sales goals.

“Very few people actually keep track of their close rates—you know, how many pitches you have to go through to get a sale,” said Gaffney. “And I think that’s really important. If you need to have four meetings set up to get one proposal, and you have to have four proposals to get one sale, I think it’s real important that you know some of that math, know how many meetings you [need to] have to hit some of your goals,” she explained.

Rainmakers. Playmakers. All-star, irreplaceable sellers. Call them what you will, it all means the same thing: They're absolutely fantastic salespeople. They work the biggest clients, they close the most deals and they bring in the most money (both for the company and themselves). They inspire the rest of the sales staff with their talent, and they enjoy the privilege of being a major company asset.

Sound like a good deal? Of course it does. Here are five areas any salesperson can focus on to push toward being the biggest and most valuable salesperson on staff.

1. Working With Big Companies

A cornerstone of being an MVP salesperson is the ability to work with big, valuable clients. (The larger the client, the larger the potential payout after all.) So what are some things you can do to succeed with big companies?

"I would advise that the salesperson be meticulous in addressing and getting confirmation on all pertinent details of the order, so there are no surprises and no disappointments," said David Frank, senior account executive at Jack Nadel International, Los Angeles. "Product specs, decoration details, timing, shipping/logistics details, delivery schedule, etc. I would also insist that product proofs be created first, to be reviewed and signed off on before proceeding with any large or important order—to ensure that the supplier can make the product properly and the client knows and approves of what they're getting," he said.

Along with attention to detail, the standard rules of good business also apply to working with big companies. "I think you have to make it very easy for any company to deal with you," said JoLou Trujillo-Ottino, corporate branding specialist, HALO Branded Solutions, Albuquerque, N.M. "Be accessible, respond quickly, provide guidance for art layout, and always thank them for their business."

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