In your selling/networking effort, a big part of your role is to orchestrate the sales process. Another big part of your role is to shield customers from the “internal challenges” you face. Some ideas on how to deal with those challenges based on my experience…
Build relationships with people that can help you
Early in my career I was a little too assertive in asking for help resolving internal issues. Here is a summary of what I learned from a mentor early in my career:
Proactively develop/enhance working relationships with those you may need help from inside and outside your company
Get to know them (e.g. what do they do for fun?)
Maintain those relationships on a regular basis
Contacting them “just to see how they are doing” (without a problem you need solved) will be well received
Make it easy to help you
Have you ever had someone “dump” a problem on you without enough information? Frustrating…does not feel good. Separate yourself from others by providing the details the person will need in order to help you. Take time to review the details. Here is a guarantee…if you are easier to help than the 10 other people seeking help from the same person, you will go to the top of the list!
Prioritize your top challenges
You likely already understand the types of internal challenges you face. The key is to recognize which challenges occur most frequently and which have more impact on your selling effort. Grab a piece of paper and priority rank the challenges…then take some time to collaborate with those involved with the top 1 or 2. I am confident if you understand each other’s perspective, good things will happen!
Marc Kitz, Sales Coach
860-836-8979
Checkout my Sales Coaching blog - https://marckitz.com/