212: Always Be Selling

<p> We rush about chasing deals.  We nail one down and race off hunting for the next one.  Sometimes we need to switch from hunter to farmer and see if there is more to that first deal. We need to keep an eye on the satisfaction the buyer has with the first deal, to see if we can cross sell, upsell or get a referral.</p> <p> </p> <p>The sales agreement is followed by the delivery of the product or service.  In some cases they are immediate and in others there is a time delay.  It is often the case that after the agreement to purchase has been achieved, we move on to the next deal and a new client or opportunity.  In the prospecting phase we can become extremely busy running around town beating the bushes and trying to conjure up some revenues to meet our targets.  The delivery of the product or service is usually done by someone in the back office, down at the factory, an agent or a contractor and not by the salesperson.</p> <p> </p> <p>Schedules get booked up and there is the danger we have not made a sufficient effort to get ourselves into the diary of the buyer, after they have received the goods or service.  We may have moved on to the next deals and are fully preoccupied with them.  We have received our commission and are happy.  Bad move.</p> <p> </p> <p>We should without fail, always arrange to see the buyer after delivery.  We want to know a number of things.  If it was a physical product, was it in the format and at the quality standard that they expected.  Better to know this earlier rather than later, because then we can fix it immediately.  In Japan, speed is key and there are so many interlocking pieces in business here.  Storage costs are high, so everyone gets by with minimum stock and expect regular top ups, as the business demand increases.  Those down the line in the food chain becoming very irate when they have promised something to their own buyers and we cannot deliver it because of some logistical mess or quality issues.  We need to be there on the spot to rectify the situation and quickly.<