Wily, seasoned OOH salespeople. Most organizations have them. They’ve been loyal, effective salespeople on your team for years. They’ve been there, done it, got the tee shirt. They’ve set the records and set new metrics for the level of expectation for performance. Despite having years of success, they show up every day just as motivated to win. When they walk in the door every morning, coffee in hand, sunglasses on, seemingly moving in slow motion the way really cool people walk into a room in the movies, you can almost hear the faint sound of a Major League Baseball slugger’s “walk up” music playing in the background of their general existence.
Here’s the problem: because they are so successful, many sales managers and senior executives assign new salespeople the task of following them around and learning from them. Which in theory is great, if those p
eople knew what made them so great. Or more importantly, they knew the reason the things they do seem to close more business or build relationships faster.
A new salesperson, when looking to a veteran to determine what to do has no idea what they’re witnessing. More often than not, after a newbie watches a veteran close a sale, and asks the question “Why did you say 'XYZ'?” the veteran’s response will be “because it works”. The newbie walks away thinking all they have to do is say "XYZ" at the end of the meeting and they will close the sale. In reality, the real sales move probably happened three steps before. However, the veteran doesn’t know exactly why what they do works, it’s just the way they have always done it. This is what is called a “non-transferable skillset”.
No one is arguing that many veteran salespeople are superstars. They are or at least were at one time. But just because you are a superstar does not mean you can explain to someone else how to close OOH business. Some things are difficult for most to define…what does it look like/sound like to have charisma? To have what most might call ‘swagger’. I know plenty of people who have it charisma/swagger. However, it is very difficult to develop those things merely by watching what someone else does or repeating what they say.
Your new salespeople aren’t learning what you think they are from your veteran people. It’s not the fault of the newbie or the veteran. Expecting someone to learn a non-transferable skillset by watching someone else exhibit that skillset is an onboarding problem, not a people problem. If you really want to help your new salespeople, give them a repeatable and documented OOH sales process.
Teach them how to evaluate prospects and the problems/issues they are facing and decisions they have to make when choosing to engage in an outdoor buy from you. Teach them how to set expectations regarding your sales process. Help them understand common objections prospects may have, but more importantly where they come from and why prospects offer objections to begin with. Coach them, mentor them, and help them develop their own swagger.
Need help with sales skills or coaching to take your out of home company to the next level. Learn more about OOH Sales Mastery at oohmastery.com or Contact Dan Nausley at dan.nausley@sandler.com, 423.702.5579.
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Lisa & Dan Nausley and Reggie Piercy of Sandler Chattanooga have developed the OOH Sales Mastery Program after more than a decade of training/coaching thousands of OOH Operators across the country in sales, leadership, and executive coaching
