My wife’s grandfather and I basically have the same exact
job. We both sell a similar suite
of services to small business owners. Although our jobs are similar, the way
we go about them couldn’t be more different. I use mobile apps and he uses a
pencil. I use an iPad and he uses manila folders. He networks at the rotary
club and I use social media. The landscape of business has changed. Technology
has reformed productivity in the workplace. Despite the tech revolution, there
are still people who resemble my wife’s grandfather more then myself. The
reason there are still sales professionals pathetically clutching their manila
folders and number 2 pencils is simple… Change is hard! It’s easier to stick
with what you know then to learn something new. Learning a new skill requires
time, effort, and hard work. What has achieved success in the past won’t
necessarily achieve it in the future. Choosing not to evolve and embrace
technology is much more costly then just sucking it up and doing it. You can’t afford not to embrace
technology because the customers you want to attract and the competitors that you’re
trying to beat are all using it on a daily basis.
This multi billion dollar company was dumping millions of
dollars into a CRM that their sales team was ignoring. The majority of my colleagues
were prospecting, reporting, and keeping notes in excel spreadsheets rather
then in Salesforce. One morning on a conference call, I heard one of the top
reps in the country mention something that blew my mind. This rep told everyone
on the call that he spends about 2.5 hours each Friday reconciling Salesforce and
his excel spreadsheets. This means that one of our top performers in the
country is spending 10 hours a month or 130 hours per year completely wasting
his time! THIS WAS THE FINAL STRAW!
After digging a bit and asking numerous colleges why they
weren’t using Salesforce, I finally figured it out. When the CRM had been
rolled out nationwide, It was presented as a tool used for micromanagement. Now
this multi billion dollar company didn’t literally come out and say “Salesforce
is the means by which all reps are going to be micromanaged”. They did however
come out with numerous MANDITORY training modules on topics like logging
activity, creating an opportunity, and reporting a sale. These modules were focused
on things that helped managers keep tabs on their reps rather then helping the
reps increase their productivity. Salesforce had been presented to the sales
team as digital busy work. Does anyone really like busy work?
So rather then get on a soapbox I decided that 100% of my
prospecting efforts during my first full month on the job were going to be done
strictly in Salesforce. My goal was to prove to my colleges that using
Salesforce could help them make money.
The first thing I did was run a few reports and filter the clients I found
down to a very specific demographic. Once I had my reports just the way I
wanted them, I sent out a mass email to everyone on my list asking for a quick
20 min meeting. I did this 3 times for 3 different areas in my territory. The entire process took me about 30mins
tops. Those three emails resulted in over 80 appointment requests from clients asking
to meet with me. I finished my first full month in the field over 600% to goal.
Word traveled quickly throughout the sales organization about my success and
everyone wanted to know my trick. My response was simple….. “I USE SALESFORCE!”
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkzaYExlPwiS0N37J-yKNdphJ32lc_2vJASxNUpjMcoKAo5pvAUJjtYYuK1GcsHUhZwIJ0ODK5rbI616ZQzEQDZSjXGEgXAENaxg_cyrLDDE4RSpYLmiv5Zq6Fb94p5pJ8oeI6j42Pq9Pv/s1600/Michael-Phelps-Funny-Pictures-demotivational-posters.jpg)
Some of the best sales people out there are still using
pencils and manila folders. Even though they might be miraculously staying
afloat their hard work can only get them so far. I don’t want to merely float… I want to swim! I want to be
the Michael Phelps of Sales. Technology helps you work hard but more
importantly it helps you work smart. Hard work, a great attitude, and passion
are timeless principles that my wife’s grandfather and I both rely on to
achieve success. Although these
timeless principles will never change, the tools used to implement them most
assuredly have.
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