I Will Not Eat Alone

Most people think March is too late to be talking about New Year’s resolutions. By now your gym bag is collecting dust in the back seat of the car and you’re ordering a side of cheeseburger with your luncheon salad. Clearly, it’s time to have a cigarette and re-focus.
Especially if you peddle freight for a living. Every year, sales reps recycle the same mistakes that result in deals left hanging in the air, and in long-time customers picking up the phone to the carrier up the street. Why? My gut tells me that good salesmanship just isn’t practiced or appreciated by most fleet owners and managers, who tend to be more focused on operations. One thing I do know for sure: the company that knows how to sell widgets will make more money than the company that knows how to make widgets.

So forget about your waistline. Want to improve your bottom line? Dust off these sales resolutions:

1. I will use my ears
Every time a customer talks about his business, it’s an opportunity to learn something that could give you a competitive advantage. Ask lots of questions — be deliberate, personal, and probing — and then exercise enough self-control to keep your mouth shut. Be as active and assertive when you listen as you do when you speak.

2. I will assume nothing
Businesses change daily. New products, new suppliers, and new customers for them may mean more freight for you. Spend the first 10 to 15 minutes of every sales call reflecting on what’s happened since the last time you met. Don’t rely on your memory (mine is already deteriorating). Keep good records.

3: I will not eat alone
Invisibility is a fate worse than failure, or so the saying goes. When I worked full-time in sales, I planned every week by first filling out the breakfast and lunch spots in my calendar. I don’t buy it when a sales rep tells me that people don’t have time for lunch any more. That’s bull. Customers have to eat, and even a quick bite is an opportunity to make an impression.

4. My quotes will have meaning
Before you make your pitch, take time to learn what your prospect needs, why he’s switching carriers, and what he plans to do with your rates. Otherwise, you’ll waste everyone’s time with a quote that’s irrelevant and/or puts you in serious jeopardy of breaking Resolution No. 5:

5. I will stick to my rates
Slashing prices is no way to build a long-term business relationship. Enough said.

6. I will cold-call
You visit the same customer over and over, but have you ever thought of dropping in to the company next door, the one with the 35 loading docks? No, you don’t have an appointment, but who cares? A handwritten note along with your brochure will break the ice when you make your follow-up call. If your truck is already making deliveries in that area every day, think of the money you’d save picking up next door.

7. I won’t do paperwork
Well, at least not until the evening. Good sales people maximize their day by spending as much “face” time as they can with customers and prospects. There’s no question that productive sales work creates tedious paperwork. The administrative stuff is not fun, but it’s part of the job. Don’t do it between eight and five when you should be out selling. Do your paperwork at night, in the morning, or on the weekends.

8. I will not lie
Treat people the way you want to be treated — with respect. That means not bending your principles — or the truth. If a potential customer doesn’t trust you or your company, you’re done. Pack your bags and move on to the next guy. Or pack your bags, period: you may not be employed for long.

9. I will seek out referrals
A good referral — be it from a personal source or a professional one — will open the door faster than Jack Layton at an NDP caucus meeting. Look around. How many of those guys standing outside the arena with you having a smoke also have freight to move?

Oh, sorry. This was the year you were gonna stop smoking. Damn those New Year’s resolutions!