The IT sales call or initial consultation is mostly about qualifying the lead. If you don’t, you may waste a lot of time on prospects that just want to pick your brains and really have no intention on hiring you. This can happen real easily when you’re moving into small businesses IT sales. In this article, you’ll learn how to move on to the next step.

Don’t Let Prospects Play "20 Questions"

People will call and they start giving you a bunch of interview questions. They start grilling you and before you know it, it’s kind of like you’re playing computer Jeopardy instead of focusing on IT sales. They’re asking you all of these questions, throwing you all of these curve balls, and they’re picking your brain.

Sooner or later you really have to be able to draw that line and say “Hey look, you know we’ve been talking an hour or so. I have six pages of notes on my legal pad describing all of the problems you’ve been telling me about. I think the next logical step would be XYZ or Let’s talk about what we’re going to do next.”

When you and your prospect reach the point that you’re done with the IT sales presentation, move on to the next step. The next step would be to have you, your systems engineer, or technician come back and spend a couple of hours to take a site survey.

A Site Survey is a Great Next Step

The site survey will inventory all of their problems and help you sort through them. In this way, the two of you can reach a decision on what is going to come first, what’s going to come second, third, and fourth.

As part of this survey, you’ll give your client a report. You’ll document everything so they know where they are with security, software licensing, data protection, etc.

The Bottom Line about IT Sales

Many people regard sales as the most effective way of earning unlimited income. In fact, 7 out of 10 salespeople who were interviewed why they preferred sales as their job, they have contended that in sales, they can earn income on tap. This goes to show that they can either earn more or earn less.

From this point of view, salespeople view their success based on the kind of sales training that they have. Of course, no one could instantly exert expertise without the proper training that he needs in his career.

Hence, many salespeople are more than willing to submit their selves to sales training. They know that it would be one of the best ways to earn and achieve success.

So for those who cannot understand why sales training is important in a salesperson’s career, here are some of the advantages of engaging into such sales booster activity.

1. It is a great help

Based on its basic concept, sales trainings are especially created to help the salespeople hone their skills and improve their craft. Their ability to create more sales is improved through the acquisition of advanced marketing strategies.

2. Molds better attitude

Another best thing about sales trainings is that they do not mainly focus on improving the skills and abilities of the salesperson as far as selling are concerned. Through these trainings, the attitude and behavior of the salesperson towards sales are improved.

Sales trainings teach them how to deal with the clients properly, how to handle objections, and how to persuade people. These things are not commonly taught on ordinary training programs.

3. Teaches good interaction

Through sales training, the seller will be able to identify the right strategy in dealing with his clients. It provides the right combination of language, perception, attitude, and the art of selling in order to interact with the client in the most favorable method.

The focus of this activity is to make the seller realize that selling should never be hard, or what most salespeople believe as hard selling. The point here is that with proper interaction, selling becomes an art, where the words and emotions are interlaced so as to lure the client to buy the product.

The Upshots

If sales training had been effective and was properly explained, chances are, sales will grow. But if it was done otherwise, more than a few unconstructive results may happen.

One of which is the lack of communication or miscommunication. Without proper orientation on the job and proper comprehension of the nature of the job, both the management and the employees might have difficulty in communicating the correct ideas and concepts.

Also, without sales trainings, salespeople will be less confident in distributing their products. This is because they are not fully aware on how to face their clients and how to persuade them into buying.

And last, without proper sales trainings, the people will not be enticed to do their job and advanced on a higher level of enthusiasm. This is because they are not aware of the possible compensation they will get ever they have performed better.

Indeed, sales trainings are not just any ordinary program and not just like any other training program designed just for the sake of having it. It has its purpose, and its results will definitely reap more income.

With jobs more difficult to find and competition fierce, you need any edge that will make your job hunt easier, or at the very least, more organized. A great job may conceivably have over one hundred applicants, so it is hard to make yourself visible without being overly aggressive or too pushy. The way you step ahead of the pack is simply by taking some of the right steps that make any employer notice you.

First, you need clarity in your own mind concerning the type of job for which you will be applying. If you are unsure where to begin, plan your job search according to your qualifications and life interests. To simply look through help wanted ads or the Internet without knowing what you want in a job will waste a lot of your time and lead to almost inevitable discouragement.

The most important tangible item an employer sees is your resume. Without a polished, clean looking, and organized resume, you will not get your foot in the door for an interview, much less the position. Therefore make sure that you have all the pertinent information required on a typical resume, and verify that it reads well.

You can accomplish this by incorporating “power” words that show off your responsibilities from prior jobs. Your resume should stand out without being "over the top." There are many online sites that help you learn how to prepare a great resume so your employers will be impressed by not only your credentials, but your professionalism as well.

A high quality resume will significantly improve your chances of receiving a call for an interview if you make sure you match your qualifications with the job you are pursuing. You do not want a resume that is too long (one page is preferable, two is maximum) or one that has too much fluff and is devoid of helpful content.

By sticking to the basics of work you have previously done and making it relevant to the job in which you are applying, you show the employer that you know their time is valuable by getting right to the point. Additionally, avoid writing a one-size-fits-all resume that is so generic it looks like a template. This is because most employers will simply spot your time-and-effort-savings technique and overlook your work.

If you have not had much relevant work experience but want to land the position with opportunities to move ahead down the road, consider adding some additional achievements in your resume. Make them factual and relevant to help your potential employer understand what you are capable of accomplishing.

Why would I be interested in using Independent Sales Representatives?

Simply put, to achieve more sales, faster, and at lower cost than other methods.

While Independent Sales Representatives are not right for all circumstances, their outstanding advantages could be right for you. Especially, if you need to take your company into new markets or grow existing markets with a lower up-front cost.

What is an Independent Sales Representative?

An Independent Sales Rep, also known as a Manufacturer’s Rep, is an independent business composed of sales, marketing and customer service professionals, representing at least two related but non-competing products in a well-defined territory, and primarily compensated through commissions. The Principal can be a manufacturer, distributor, importer, or service provider.

An Independent Sales Rep is not the same as "inside" sales, showroom sales, or telephone sales. An Independent Sales Rep may use showrooms, trade shows or the telephone to interact with customers. But their primary focus is to work face-to-face with customers, often traveling to meet with them to show products and services, close sales, provide training and solve issues. Commonly, Independent Sales Reps carry complementary product lines and cover a territory suited to effective coverage of the account base.

What is a Sales Agency?

A Sales Agency, also known a a Rep Agency, offers a management structure and a team of two or more Independent Sales Representatives. Sales Agencies generally operate regionally. Just as in the case of an Independent Sales Rep acting in a solo fashion, sales agencies sell multiple product lines that do not compete with each other. Sales Agencies sometime have a provide showroom space as part of their services.

Several years ago I was sitting in the office of a very successful businessman. He was the CEO of the company. He had finished interviewing me for a sales managers position.

As we approached the end of the interview he turned to me and told me that he was very impressed with me …so far. He then paused dramatically and said,

"Show me that you know how to sell….SELL ME THIS PENCIL."

"SELL YOU A PENCIL?" I thought. "I don’t know a thing about PENCILS!"

It became evident that the entire interview was a mere formality to this exercise.

If I passed this test I would get the job. If I flubbed this, I wouldn’t.

I can very quickly tell how experienced a sales person is by how much they talk.

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