Top Sales Manager Blog

Someone knows how to make a sale.

It’s not Bill Gates. No, it isn’t Steve Jobs, or whoever were the CEOs of Intel for the last four decades.

It’s Corky. Yes, Cork Walgreen, the founder of Walgreen Drugstores!

Corky’s formula was simple. He wanted to establish the most convenient drugstore chain in the US with a high profit per customer visit. It’s straightforward, and it served him well. Very well. Walgreen’s Drugstores beat Microsoft and Intel in terms of stock performance for the past four decades!

What Walgreen did for business, you – a sales manager – should do for your career.

The first step in distinguishing yourself from the competition is learning to distinguish first what it is you can do better than others even with both hands tied behind your back. Figure this thing out, and you’re halfway to becoming a competent sales manager. The next step is to teach this talent of yours to the sales team over and over and over again.

Here are some questions that might help you discover your unique edge over the competition.

1. In what ways are my product and service better than the competition?
2. Is there one particular aspect of my product or service that “beats the pants off” my competitors?
3. How much incrementally better is that particular feature of my product or service than the competition?
4. What specific subset of my customers would be most interested in that feature?
5. What kind of benefit does it offer to that subset of customers?
6. Is this benefit simple enough that even my worst sales rep would seem like a pro just talking about it?
7. If I focus all my efforts and my sales team’s efforts on that particular sub-market, is it going to pay off in the long run? Is it going to help me achieve better sales ratings long term?

Find what aspect of sales you excel in and then align your sales people and products and services behind that singular message. If you can do this, if you get all seven differentiators on your side of the fence, then you’re on your way to hitting quota every time and breaking new grounds in your career.

To learn more about sales management, get our free video on the sidebar of this post or by clicking here.

If you have any tips to share with us, let me know by leaving a comment after this post.

Filed under: Coaching, Leading by ralphburns