Control Your TerritoryDont Let It Control You [Mark Hunter] Ep #290
Too many salespeople wing it. They just wanna \u201cSee what\u2019s out there.\u201d But Mark Hunter emphasizes that planning is the\xa0only\xa0way you\u2019ll maximize the opportunities in your territory. You can\u2019t react to whatever business is out there.\xa0
Mark loves to say, \u201cTomorrow begins today.\u201d You have to plan your day, week, and month. Why? It allows you to use your time efficiently. Many salespeople are busy but not as productive as they could be if they had planned how they\u2019d use their time. Listen to this episode of Sales Reinvented to hear Mark share more about his planning process!
Outline of This Episode- [0:49] Why is territory sales planning underrated?\xa0
- [1:13] How territory sales planning can reduce reactivity
- [2:06] The ingredients of the ideal territory sales plan
- [3:39] Attributes and characteristics that make a salesperson great
- [6:33] Tools, tactics, and strategies to improve sales planning skills
- [9:17] Mark\u2019s top territory sales planning dos and don\u2019ts
- [12:36] Control your territory\u2014don\u2019t let your territory control you
The first question you must ask is who is your ideal customer? No matter the size of your territory, there will always be opportunities. You want to focus your time on the best of the best. If you don\u2019t know your ICP, you\u2019ll waste a tremendous amount of your time on other people.
You have to understand the outcome that you can create. No customer\xa0buys\xa0anything. They\xa0invest. They invest because they want a return on their investment. So what can you help them achieve?
Don't overlook the value of your calendar. Block time to work on projects. Mark follows the \u201c10 am Rule.\u201d By 10 am, he wants to have accomplished something significant. If you can do that, it motivates you. If the day were to fall apart you could still consider it successful. By mid-morning, Mark had already sent out a major proposal to a client. What has it resulted in? He\u2019s accomplished so much more.\xa0
Attributes and characteristics that make a salesperson greatYour head needs to be in the right place. You have to focus on using your time efficiently\u2014while helping customers\u2014and never be satisfied with where you are today. Mark points out that it\u2019s not his job as a sales manager to motivate his salespeople. His goal is to\xa0create an environment\xa0for them to motivate\xa0themselves. There are a few things Mark shares that lead to success:
- You have to understand the value of time and how you manage it. Everyone is blessed with 24 hours a day. How will you choose to use them?
- Be customer-focused. Salespeople set a monetary goal not realizing that\u2019s the reward, not the goal. Your goal should be meetings, making customers happy, and helping customers achieve their outcomes.
- Never be content with where you\u2019re at. Success can only be defined by yourself. Don\u2019t let others define it for you. You can deem yourself successful while never being satisfied. Why? Because you\u2019re always asking what you can do to become better.\xa0
How can you become more proficient? How can you be more productive? The measure of productivity is the results your customers achieve from the outcomes they\u2019re able to achieve based on how you\u2019ve helped them.
Top territory sales planning dos and don\u2019tsMark shares some things you should\u2014and shouldn\u2019t do\u2014to achieve your goals:
- Identify your ICP and develop key questions that focus on each ICP.
- Manage your time. Break it up into segments. Allocate a percentage of each day to small, medium, and large accounts.\xa0
- Understand where your greatest opportunities are and manage your pipeline. It doesn\u2019t matter how many leads go into the top of the funnel\u2014it\u2019s what you pull out through the bottom. Identify and qualify prospects quickly to close them faster.\xa0
- Don\u2019t hang on to customers that aren\u2019t profitable. You can\u2019t afford to keep them. Always look to trim the bottom 10% of your client list.
- You are not in the customer service game. The sales role is about creating incremental opportunities. Don\u2019t allow yourself to play customer service agent.\xa0
- Don\u2019t allow yourself to associate with anyone who is not going to be a positive influence on you. You are the sum of the 5 people you associate with the most. Invest your time with really smart people.\xa0
Mark was young and enthusiastic when he started in sales. He had a large territory assigned to him. He soon realized that territory included demanding customers. He felt he had to step up and deliver them more service. The result? He could leave their office and they\u2019d call 20 minutes later and ask for something else.\xa0
He had been working the territory for 3 months when his boss asked him to meet for breakfast. Mark was an hour and a half late because he was visiting a customer taking care of a problem. He thought his boss would be happy. His boss was actually\xa0livid\xa0and threatened to fire him on the spot. It wasn\u2019t because he was let. It was because he allowed his priorities to get disrupted. He was allowing problem accounts to control how he operated his territory. It\u2019s one of the worst problems new salespeople have: the desire to want to serve and please everyone out there.\xa0
Mark\u2019s boss told him that he would never be able to satisfy every demanding customer. Instead, the objective is to\xa0minimize\xa0them. Allow them a small percentage of your time. If not, you\u2019ll never have time to develop customers to create the incremental business you need to meet your numbers. Failure to make your number will get you fired in a quarter.\xa0
Resources & People Mentioned- Mark\u2019s book, \u201cA Mind for Sales\u201d
- Evernote
- HubSpot
- Chorus
- Zoho
Audio Production and Show notes by
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