Sales Tip of the Week from Mike Leeds – Pro Sales Coaching
What Sales People can learn from the game "Battleship"
No matter how busy a sales person is currently, a portion of their sales time on a daily or weekly basis needs to be in Business Development. The art of Business Development is a mix of cross-selling & up-selling existing customers, networking, asking for referrals, warm calls and cold calls. These activities will help pave the way for future business, and reduce our dependency on merely surviving on repeat orders from existing customers. Caring for our existing customer base is critical; however, without additional focus on new opportunities we risk losing a chunk of our business revenue by experiencing a customer loss (caused by either a competitive or economic issue).
A client of mine recently told me that he compares Business Development to playing the game "Battleship". While he makes only a few prospecting calls per week in addition his other account management activities, he tries to make a game out of it. If you have played the game you know that there are a lot more white pegs for misses than there are red pegs for hits. This is the norm for prospecting as well (especially cold calling). When playing "Battleship", many people utilize some sort of strategy in trying to find their opponent's ships. And yes, occasionally "winging it" may work as well. However, pre-planning lays the foundation for running an effective strategy. This approach also works in other board games - as well as works in my favorite topic - sports.
Overall, you will find blending in some sound Business Development strategy along with your other activities - a winning combination.
Celebrate your successes!
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