In one episode my guest was not just a sales agent, he is a coach to all sales agents with his 7th Level sales program, the only friction-free, persuasion sales system.
What is a sales agent, why are they important, and why should an entrepreneur care?
I get it – some may hear the word “sales agent” and think of some used-car salesman pitching you a lemon that breaks down after a week. But in truth, a sales agent is a professional that your company hires to sell products or services and act as a spokesperson for your brand in the process.
Acts as a spokesperson for your brand in the process. That part is key.
In all honesty, I am a bit of a sales agent: I am the external face of support for the healthcare system I work for, and I am the business partner to a good friend helping to scale his brand as a sales agent. However, each role I play as a sales agent is different. I do not approach a hospital the same way I approach a collaborating brand.
In healthcare, I am not selling anything – I am building external relationships to create synergy between our health system and community hospital and providers. I do this by taking a personal approach. I am not going to get into my specific strategy but if you are a physician liaison, outreach manager, or strategic manager, primarily in healthcare, reach out to me on LinkedIn.
However, my approach to collaborative opportunities for Burnside Knives is much different. There is a unique difference between the relationship I am building with healthcare systems (service) vs. a brand (product), and that is why sales agents are important.
A sales agent is tasked with pitching relevant products or services, and ensuring customers have a positive experience throughout the process.
When I first started in my role as an outreach manager I spent time cold calling clinics to understand the market. Cold calling means to make an unsolicited call on (someone), by phone or in person, in an attempt to sell goods or services. It is a tactic a sales agent uses to solicit a sale, establish a relationship, or simply acquire information.
How does one acquire information through a cold call? Play dumb of course.
Example: if I am interested into finding out information on a competitor service or product, I simply call the targeted location and begin to ask questions as if I were a consumer. Because guess what: I am.
Playing dumb on the call simply means ask simple questions: I am interested in XYZ, could you tell me more? Do you provide this service? Does it come with that function?
I know I am going to age myself here, but I legit used to go through the phone book and cold call numbers when I was a real estate agent. I would not advise that – I got some pretty angry answers, but I was learning and it was great experience to help get over my fears of cold calling.
Sales agents can also work through referrals. Listen folks – I have a backlog of guests waiting to be on the show. I am not saying this to boast, I am saying this because those are all referrals.
When I first started this show, I was cold-calling entrepreneurs to be guests – I was sliding into the DMs, @ing folks on the Twitter, tagging prospective guests and resharing their content on the gram. Now I am working through referrals, and it is a large list.
But my point is I did this all acting as a sales agent for my show. I took all of my years of experience in healthcare, real estate, Hollywood Video – shout out to The Wood, and so many other working opportunities, and that is why an entrepreneur should care.
Attracting new customers is certainly important, but retaining customers is equally as important. Finding a sales agent to help get the business, product or service get from cold calling to referrals is what every entrepreneur should strive for.
A sales agent is the external face of the brand. In a way, a sales agent is an entrepreneur.
An entrepreneur supporting the growth of the global entrepreneur.
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