From Farm To Sales Pro
Sales professionals come from all over – the beauty of sales is that if you’re good, you’re good. It doesn’t matter where you come from- even if it is a small dairy farm in Hanson, MA. Enter Tim Lozeau, Senior Business Development Executive at Brafton. Brafton is the leading content marketing provider for many known brands – if you frequent corporate blogs, YouTube, or social media, than chances are likely that you’ve interacted with something produced by Brafton.
When he’s not talking to C-Level executives about their content marketing needs, you’ll find him working global trade shows and killing his quota by 160%. Tim recently had the distinction of having the best year in Brafton history in 2014. And while content marketing is a relatively new (and trending) industry, Tim’s sales tips are tried and true techniques that should have relevance in any deal that you are trying to close.
Over Promising + Under Delivering = Bad News
Credibility is a reoccurring theme when talking about top sales tips. How do you establish said credibility? Set the proper expectations and be up front with your potential customer. Trying to force a fit that just isn’t there really helps nobody.
Tim had recalled more than a few customers he won specifically because of his honesty. He recalled an example where his honesty left a deep impression with a specific marketing executive – when that executive moved to a different company, he called Tim for his business.
Be A Value Add
Tim stressed being appreciative of the fact that as a sales professional, people are often taking time out of their day job to hear his pitch. He stressed the importance of doing your due diligence before walking through the door – know your customer, know your product, and know how it all comes together.
By taking a consultative approach to meetings, Tim makes sure that participants of a meeting walk away with good insight. The opportunity may not go to Tim in the end, but he learns something from every meeting and tries to return the favor. If he can help you, he’ll do it knowing that someone gained something from the meeting.
Tim told me of a prospect that was not a fit due to other structural issues in their system – Tim acted on this by introducing the prospect to a friend that helped this prospect address these structural issues. And while the fit with this prospect never worked out, he did tell his golf buddies about it – which lead to two very premium deals for Tim and Brafton.
Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For The Business
This is probably the most simple and straight forward piece of advice I’ve gotten from an interview. Why not? Tim has found that a lot of people are afraid to just ask for the business.
Afraid of an awkward conversation for being too forward? Tim doesn’t see it happening that way – if you put the work in. By being up front about your product/service and adding value, you shouldn’t feel weird asking for the business. Leaving things open ended is probably worse – at least the customer knows you want it!
In Conclusion
Tim left me with a memorable quote: “Some people take it for granted that meetings are set- and you never can. You never know where your business is going to come from.” By being honest, adding value, and having the courage to ask for the business, Tim consistently puts himself in the position to win more deals.
Read up more on how other experienced sales professionals are crushing their quotas or saving the world.
Photos courtesy of Flickr user Peter M Graham.
