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Idea Man

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tues, 7/14/2015

The name of the game today is solution-based selling. It has really been the most important part of the sales process, forever! That’s a long time.

In my second position out of college I was selling radio advertising for an AM-FM radio station combination. After seven months on the job, I wasn’t going anywhere with my sales. In fact I may have retreated from where I started. After talking with my peers about the steps I was taking in trying to sell, I learned that what I was doing was selling radio, not solutions for my clients.

At this point I changed my techniques to communicate to my prospective clients that I had ideas for them, whether I connected with them via phone, in-person or by mail. In essence, I became an idea man on their behalf. Occasionally they would come back and say that if it involved buying radio advertising, they were not interested. I assured them that they could use my ideas for anything they were doing in marketing their business and they were under no obligation to use them for radio advertising.

What this did for me included; showing I had initiative in thinking about who and what my clients were about, to come up with targeted ideas to grow their business, showing that I had integrity in not forcing them to buy radio advertising, and lastly, showing how I was different from eighty per cent of the salespeople calling on them.

Guess what-it worked! After a few months I was the top billing salesperson at that station, and it continued that way until I left two years later for a position at a larger station. And it continued at that station as well, using the same technique. This time it only took me a few months to become the top seller.

Are you an idea person for your customers? Think of yourself as a business super hero with a Big “I” on your chest. I don’t think it’s trademarked. Go ahead and use it! You become Idea Man! Just by switching your approach, from telling prospects how great your company is over the competition, to feeding them concrete ideas, based on kowing their needs, you will win at a higher rate, and your clients will love you for it when they analyze the ROI!

What are your challenges when it comes to delivering ideas for your clients? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time…