Stop complaining about the market and the competition!

Ich würde die beiden neuen Gedanken nicht nur ergänzen, sondern als Eskalationspunkt in den Text einbauen. Vor allem “Maybe business is still too comfortable” gibt dem Beitrag deutlich mehr Kante. Where Have All the Hunters Gone? There are too many average salespeople. Too many lazy ones. Too many who wait. Too many who hide in their comfort zone. And far too few real hunters. I wish there were more salespeople with a real hunting spirit. People who smell an opportunity and go after it. People who call. Who follow up. Who stay close. Who don't give up after the first, second or third attempt. People who understand one simple truth: Customers don't fall into your lap. You have to win them. I Am a Real Opportunity Here is a very simple example from my own life. Every three years, I lease a new car. My current lease still has about six months to run, so I have started looking at what comes next. BMW X5? Audi Q7? Mercedes GLE? VW Touareg? Maybe something completely different? Diesel? Plug-in hybrid? Fully electric? I haven't decided yet. Which means: I am a real opportunity. I have a need. I have a budget. I have a timeline. I am actively researching. And I will buy. Through friends, colleagues and business contacts, I was introduced to seven or eight supposedly good car salespeople from different brands. And then? Almost nothing happened. Only two showed genuine interest. And only one keeps following up regularly. One. Out of seven or eight. He asks whether I have made a decision. He asks whether he can provide additional information. He stays in touch. He wants the business. That is sales. The others? Silence. They have my name. They have my contact details. They know I am looking. They know I will buy. They know exactly when I will buy. And still: Nothing. No call. No message. No follow-up. No persistence. No hunger. Maybe Business Is Still Too Comfortable And that makes me wonder: Maybe things simply aren't bad enough yet. How bad does business have to get before a salesperson finally leaves his comfort zone? How much market share do you have to lose? How many customers have to disappear? How many targets do you have to miss? How empty does the pipeline have to become? Before somebody finally picks up the damn phone? We talk about difficult markets. We talk about competition. We talk about pricing pressure. We talk about economic uncertainty. We talk about customers delaying investments. Fine. But before blaming the market, answer one question: Did you really fight for every opportunity? Or did you send one email, make one call and then wait? Because waiting is comfortable. Hunting isn't. One Contact Is Not Sales Here is another truth many salespeople apparently still haven't understood: Winning a new customer may take ten contacts. Not one. Not two. Not three. Ten. Call. Follow up. Send something relevant. Call again. Ask another question. Create another reason to talk. Stay visible. Stay relevant. Stay on the opportunity. And yes, sometimes after ten attempts the answer will still be NO. Welcome to sales. If you give up after two attempts because the prospect didn't immediately respond, you are not persistent. If you are afraid of being rejected, you are in the wrong profession. If you believe sending a quotation means your job is done, you haven't understood sales. And if you still haven't understood that winning uncertain customers requires repeated, disciplined follow-up: You are not a good salesperson. Period. Sales Is Not Order Taking Too many people working in sales aren't actually selling. They are administrators with business cards. They react when customers call. They answer emails. They prepare quotations. They update CRM systems. They wait. And when nothing happens, they explain why the market is difficult. Bullshit. Sales means creating movement. Sales means creating opportunities. Sales means staying close. Sales means asking. Sales means following up. Sales means dealing with rejection. Sales means getting up and trying again. Sales means hunting. My 20–25–50 Rule This isn't scientific research. It is my observation after decades in business: 20–25% are real salespeople. Hungry. Persistent. Fast. Relentless. They smell an opportunity. And they go after it. Another 25% are okay. They do their job. They respond. They follow up occasionally. They survive. And then there are the remaining 50%. The sleepers. They wait. They need to be pushed. They confuse being busy with selling. They hope the customer will come back. They complain about the market. They complain about prices. They complain about competitors. They complain about leads. They complain about everything. Except their own lack of action. Hope is not a sales strategy. The Customer Is Watching You And here is what many salespeople underestimate: Your level of interest influences my level of interest. Of course I compare products. Price. Technology. Quality. Service. Total cost. But I am also evaluating you. Do you want my business? Are you hungry? Are you interested? Are you listening? Are you persistent? Are you fighting to win me? Because the way you treat me before I become your customer tells me something about how you might treat me after I become your customer. And yes: That influences my buying decision. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone Sales doesn't need more administrators. Sales doesn't need more excuses. Sales doesn't need more people sitting behind screens waiting for incoming orders. Sales needs hunters. People with energy. People with persistence. People with curiosity. People with courage. People with hunger. People who see an opportunity and think: I WANT THIS CUSTOMER. Not: Let's see whether he calls back. He might not. Your competitor might call him first. So move. Pick up the phone. Follow up. Ask again. Stay close. Take the rejection. Come back. And if necessary: Do it ten times. Because nobody owes you an order. Nobody owes you a response. Nobody owes you success. You have to earn it. Stop waiting for business. Get out of your comfort zone. Start hunting. And go get the damn customer.