Turn the page on January Syndrome

The game of ‘fill the trailer’ is changing – and so should you By Mike McCarron

Every January, I notice a significant surge in the number of suppliers who want to set up meetings. Seems like every Dale Carnegie comes back from the holidays raring to go, committed to working harder and being a better version of last year’s model. It’s the same reason the company fridge is chock-full of salads the first month of the year. I call it January Syndrome.

So far this year, more sales reps have lost ground with me than gained it. Several months ago, my gig changed to the non-asset side of the business. You’d expect that even a rookie sales rep would have done his homework about that before hitting “send” to see how many temporary drivers I need. Yet the number of clueless sales “professionals” who reach out to me as though I’m still running trucks is staggering.

These irritating calls made me appreciate how much B2B sales is changing and how slowly our industry is adapting. Here are some of the fundamental shifts I’m seeing in the game of “fill the trailer”:

Researching not Prospecting

Today, information about prospects comes from multiple sourc- es. You can find timely, accurate background on virtually any company and its decision-makers, customers, competitors, and markets. Information like this used to take months or even years to pry out of people. Today, you can set up Google alerts to have news about your prospects pushed to you via e-mail or RSS. Have you checked out their Linkedln and Facebook pages?

Starting cold with open-ended, probing questions about your prospect’s business will kill your credibility along with any chance of ever getting a pound of freight. Do the research and develop a game plan long before you reach out. This is Sales 101 today.

You’re not Needed Anymore

We’re dealing with more RFPs than ever now. One reason is that decision-makers are smarter and more informed. They generally know how to solve their own problems and don’t need assistance from their sales rep until it’s time to figure out what all that scribble on their whiteboard is going to cost them. If you’re not careful, your sales force will turn into nothing more than a flock of messenger pigeons dropping off smelly pricing all day.

They’ve heard it all before In contemporary sales, the old “Ben Franklin close” no longer flies. You can’t rely on a deft tongue, a slick brochure, and a canned presentation. In fact, selling today is about not selling. Customers want business partners who can add value and provide attributes they can’t get from a computer.

Forget the song-and-dance routine and charts of pros and cons. Work on consistently demonstrating that you are hon- est, hardworking, and knowledgeable. The deals will evolve naturally and the rates will take care of themselves.

Not a one-man Show

If you’re in sales, my guess is that you’ve never won an Employee of the Month mug. There’s tension between sales and operations that many chalk up to arrogance. To me, it stems from the reality that sales reps can “earn” three times the coin of everyone else.

Today, it takes a collaborative effort to secure, manage, and grow business with customers. It’s a company-wide commitment that dwarfs anyone person. Outdated compensation models that are overly focused on individuals and short-term goals are no longer effective and will only demotivate your team.

Lunches are Cool

Twenty years ago, one of the easiest and most common ways to take a business relationship to a new level was a night on the town with all the fixings. Now, customers would rather have the grand you spent for the limo, dinner, and tickets taken off their monthly freight spend. Most don’t have the time to be out at night, and many will even frown at the invitation. Also, with more women responsible for buying transportation now, men are starting to figure out how complicated nighttime entertaining with the opposite gender can be (a fact that women in sales have dealt with for years).

Try a business lunch instead. It’s a great way to spend an hour with a client, especially if you’re still getting to know each other. Just don’t order the salad. There’s still plenty of that in the fridge.

Mike McCarron was one of the founding “M”s in MSM Transportation before the company was purchased by the Wheels Group. Based in Toronto, he currently works for Wheels in mergers and acquisitions and can be reached at mmccarron@wheelsgroup.com. Follow Mike on Twitter @AceMcC