Many salesman are notorious for being loud spoken, aggressive and saying “yes” to everything a prospects asks that may lead to a sale. But we all know no company can be all things to all people. It is just not possible. Here are (5) Questions you should ask every salesman you meet to decide if they are the right fit for your company:
- How long have you been in business?
- What’s your companies sales growth (decline) over the past 5 years?
- What are your weaknesses?
- What separates you from your competitors?
- How does your company react to problems when things go wrong?
The answers to these (5) questions will tell you significant insight into a company’s personality. Obviously you are going to hear their best side of their story so be cautious and ask additional follow up questions to their answers. It should not be too difficult to weed out the salesman who are offering products or services they can not back up.
- A company does not have to of been in business for 100 years to be successful but be cautious of any outfit in their first few years. Experience really is critical to success and pay close attention to their answer to question #2.
- “In business you are either growing or you are dying. There ain’t no third direction.” -Thomas Callahan. If a company has not had any sales growth consistently in last several years I would make sure they have very good reasons for this. If not it is a clear indicator they have poor leadership from the top, poor customer retention, trouble attracting new business and therefore have many flaws to their products and/or services. This is a huge red flag!
- If a salesman can not point out the weaknesses of their company to you then he or she is just not being honest with you. All successful companies have many strengthens but it is nearly impossible for any business to be highly successful in all aspects of what they do. Ask questions and find out who you are dealing with before giving them a shot.
- Every salesmen should be able to tell you what separates them from their competitors. If not there is a strong chance their business is not strong at any factors you should be looking for. This is actually very common and shows a clear lack of leadership within their organization. If they can not define they can offer you better than who you are currently working with to win your business and keep it why bother even working with them?
- The answer to question #5 is key. Most salesman brag about their companies being the best. Be it quality, pricing, lead times, customer service etc. But ask them how they handle problems. How do they handle mistakes. Then ask follow up questions. Ask for specific examples. If they can’t answer these questions you may find yourself in trouble when mistakes occur. And in every business nothing ever goes perfect forever.
Thank you for reading our blog at Motor City Spindle Repair. If you would like to learn more our company, products or services please contact us anytime at (734) 261-8600, Sales@motorcityrepair.com or www.motorcityrepair.com
