The last several Tips have focused on "Breaking the Rules", or changing the rules that the customer has set for us to follow. This Tip takes us back to the beginning...

The most basic rule of all is about who sets the rules. In most cases the customer sets the rules and therefore has control. One of the best practices of superior sales professionals is that they don't let the customer set the rules or take control in the first place. Here are some characteristics of these people:


They decide which accounts (or opportunities within existing customers) they are going to pursue based on their selection criteria;
If there is an RFP or auction involved, they decide if and how they will respond;
No matter what they sell, they consider themselves a business professional who helps their customers improve their business, not a vendor who sells products;
They know that they have to understand their prospect's business, and to do this they have to do their research;
They decide who they will call on to do this research, when they will call them, and what questions they will ask;
They get outside of the traditional practice of calling only on people who traditionally buy their products;
They decide who the right senior level decision makers are and how to meet with them;
When determining the optimal solution for each customer, they consider not just their products and services, but their company's expertise, experience, resources and relationships;
They decide the best presentation flow to use when they meet with decision makers in order to make the strongest impression;
They create the best possible closing forum, and determine the best way to advance the effort;
They strive to operate proactively, and even when they are reacting to a customer opportunity (as in an RFP situation), they are "strategically reactive".


In other words, they take control of the sales process and take control of their own destiny!