Mind Your Details
by Dan Seidman
Monster Contributing Writer
How attentive are you to details? True selling pros successfully manage the big picture while ensuring that all the small pieces are also in place. In this medical sale tale, a rookie rep is embarrassed when she overlooks one of those pieces. Here's her story:
I was a shy, rookie medical rep in Tennessee who was about to go on my first appointment. My boss rode along with me to observe and coach me on my first day of “real-world” selling.
We arrived at a waiting room, where people were packed like sardines. I walked up to a receptionist who was hiding behind a tiny glass window. I proudly handed her my business card and announced that I had an appointment.
We waited uncomfortably; my manager couldn't discuss the impending call in a room full of strangers and potential competitors.
The time passing began to irritate me. After 30 minutes beyond our designated time had passed, I popped out of my seat, announcing to my manager that we were going in. It was time to be assertive, I thought. So I slid the monocle-sized window aside and asked the receptionist why we had not been called.
"Who are you?" she asked. I pointed at my business card lying next to her. She glanced down, commenting that she'd called me several times long ago and assumed that I'd left when I didn't respond.
I squinted at the card and felt my stomach squeeze tight. The card I had handed her was not my card! I had received a woman's business card earlier (a colleague's) and had put that card with my own cards, inadvertently pulling it from my stack when I entered this office.
There was no choice but to reschedule the call. I shuffled with my manager out the door, beyond the ears of the waiting room, to explain what I'd done. He glared at me, eyes saying it all: “dumb rookie,” “bad hire,” “waste of time.” He shook his head, and we continued our day. He never commented on my silly mistake. To this day, I always look at my business card before I hand it to people.
Postmortem
This rookie's blunder is reminiscent of an Old Testament metaphor, "The little foxes spoil the vines." This metaphor refers to small creatures that nibble away at the grapes before they can be harvested and used to generate profits. In the same way, you won't get to enjoy the fruits of your labor if you don't watch out for the fine points of doing business in a professional fashion.
Pay attention to the details of your workday to avoid being the butt of someone else's joke. Get smart about the little things so you can enjoy celebrating your successes; make wine from those grapes so that you may enjoy a glass.
dan@salesautopsy.com.
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