I once heard a great analogy relating life to trees. That many times it’s what you don’t see that makes things what they are. If the roots aren’t as deep and wide underground as the parts of the tree we can see, the tree is not stable.
This got me thinking about prospecting, winning, and servicing your accounts.
Think of your “tree” as your outreach to and interaction with the prospect. Your tree is the accounts you win and serve. These are the parts of the process that are visible to the prospect and, to some extent, the sales manager.
However, we also have the unseen part. This is the research and preparation; the roots of the tree.
If your research and unseen effort don’t match your visible part of the tree, maybe your sales process or that particular interaction is not stable either.
Beginning inside salespeople often decide to forego preparation and wing it because they are eager to make a sale or they want to skip the unseen work, the actual roots of the process.
As you earn and grow your accounts, remember that preparation and research will serve you throughout the client relationship. Yes, it’s wonderful to have a flourishing, beautiful tree, but it’s important to establish and nurture those deep and broad roots that form the stable base of what you have created.
If you’d like examples of how sales managers can encourage their team members to put in the effort and time to build a stable base, I’d love to meet with you. Click reply and let’s talk.
Here’s to your growth,
Lynn
Growing Wide and Deep for a Stable Base
