Sales Lessons on Fear and Jealousy
As many of you know, after graduating from Liberty University, I got my “masters in sales” at Westside Toyota in Jacksonville, Florida. During my three years there, I learned countless sales lessons. One lesson was getting over your fears, which I will come back to in a bit. After leaving Westside, I was blessed to be hired by Doug Barrow and Bill Riddel at HealthLink, where we sold microbiology, lotions and potions – in other words, soaps and disinfectants.
My first six months were spent in the warehouse pulling orders and doing inventory every Friday. Each week I had to listen to a sales lesson on tape (yes, a cassette tape), and then on Tuesdays and Thursdays I would learn a product and have to sell it to Bill or Doug with an audience. It was in those sessions where I learned how to be jealous for my business.
This was a key message for Bill, one of the top three salespeople I’ve ever known. He wanted us to be jealous for our business, as well as the business of the distributor reps we worked with. He hammered this message home because we were in a category that’s often overlooked by sales reps. There isn’t much sexy about selling infection control, gloves, table paper, and other consumables. However, when we step back and add up what these categories equal to our annual sales, and how much of it we may be missing, that’s typically when we start getting jealous for our business.
Now back to the earlier lesson I mentioned, getting past our fears. The September 2023 issue focused on respiratory testing. Given the time of year, everyone will still be talking about it with practices and lab techs in the POL. This is a perfect time to get past your fear of the lab and start getting jealous for the business that is there, and the business that could be there, with a few questions and the help of a manufacturer reps. During AACC, I spoke with Peter Napoli and Mark Gnagy of Alfa Wassermann, and they made the comment that typically only 20% of reps will bring up a moderately complex instrument in a POL. Which prompted me to write this Publisher’s Letter. The best sales rep I’ve ever known (my mom) always said, “son, it’s ‘no’ until you ask.”
What are you waiting for? Asking a few questions could change your year.
Over the next few weeks remind yourself that you’re not an order taker – you’re a professional salesperson. Get jealous for all the business in your accounts, while overcoming your fears of the POL. Start a conversation, and then put your manufacturers to work. You will be amazed at not only how much your territory will grow, but also how good you feel closing business and bringing value to your accounts and suppliers.
Dedicated to the Industry,
R. Scott Adams