171: Just In Time Is Bad In Sales

<p>Just In Time Is Bad In Sales</p> <p> </p> <p>Toyota is famous for its JIT or Just In Time system of logistics when building cars.  Parts arrive exactly when needed, so have vast space for item storage isn’t necessary, saving time and money.  When we are selling we sometimes stray into this territory too, but this is a bad move.  In the case of salespeople they are doing their background research into the company in the taxi or on the subway, as they head to the client’s site.  They begin thinking about the buyer needs only once they get into the meeting.  The come with nothing for the buyer because they haven’t prepared anything.</p> <p> </p> <p>In a perfect world, the salesperson will bring some information or insight for the buyer that they will value.  This enables them to differentiate themselves from all of the other salespeople out there selling the exact same thing.  This is the beauty of sales, if you spend the time to research what is happening in the industry, to make the effort to collect data that is relevant, to showcase likely trends for the buyer, to bring forth some best practise they may not be aware of, then you can stand far above the crowd,</p> <p> </p> <p>If the aim is to partner with buyer then this is what a good partner will do. If you are looking beyond the initial sale to the reorder and to a lifetime relationship with the buyer, then these pieces of the puzzle become worth investing in.  You cannot do this in the subway car On the way there, trying to be JIT efficient with your time.  In fact this is totally inefficient and counter productive.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the sales meeting we don’t want to be cutting corners.  The typical Japanese salesperson will leap straight into the product catalogue or the product flyers and start expounding on the virtues of the company’s line up.  They are waxing lyrical over their pink range not knowing that the buyer wants blue.  This is totally inefficient and ineffective, yet this is what 99% of Japanese salespeople are doing everyday – running arou