If you were to take a look at my calendar this time of year, you’d see that on nearly every day that I’m not on the road coaching and consulting for The GrowGroup, I have lunch plans with someone in town.
This is not because I love to eat out, or because I can’t be bothered to pack my own lunch—though both are true on occasion. It’s because right now, even in these drab days of winter, I am focused on finding new prospects for Grunder Landscaping, cultivating relationships with past and present clients, and expanding our network in the Dayton community.
The most successful sales people I know play a long game, patiently laying groundwork months and sometimes even years ahead for future sales. They know leads and sales can come from anywhere; the more people you know, the more chances you have for your reputation to spread and for home and business owners to think of you—or recommend you—when the time comes for landscaping work.
I recently asked Grow Group coach Chris Psencik, who boasts an impressive closing record in the green industry, why he thinks he was so successful at sales. Without missing a beat, he said, “The ability to relate to the customer. Nine out of ten of my calls and conversations didn’t involve sales. I just focused on building the relationship.”
In my experience, those are words to live by. So take a look at your calendar this week and see where you have time in your schedule to devote to lunch or coffee with prospects, clients, and contacts. Meet with them, get to know them better, listen more than you speak. Take a genuine interest in them. Focus on building relationships now, and I can guarantee you the sales will follow later.
Have a great week!
P.S. Join us at GROW! 2019, where sales pros Chris Psencik and JW Washington, director of business development for the Ariens Company, will lead a hands-on workshop on Sales Forecasting for Success. They have a fantastic session planned to drive measurable results at your company—if you’re serious about winning at sales, you don’t want to miss this.
Want to bring your team to GROW! 2019? Companies with three or more attendees receive 15% off; e-mail lindsey@growgroupinc.com for details.
Following the conference, The Grow Group is heading to Beaver Creek, Colorado, for two days of fun in the snow and relaxation. We’re thrilled to announce Koch Agronomic Services has generously offered to provide FREE two-day lift tickets for the next 12 folks who sign up.
Join us, and bring your spouse, partner, or friends too!
We’re proud to count Gravely as our lead sponsor at GROW! 2019. Watch as they give us a sneak peek into what we can expect to see from Gravely next month in Denver: