Smoke & Meers: What the client wants vs. What the client needs — and the Account people who know the difference.

Smoke & Meers: What the client wants vs. What the client needs — and the Account people who know the difference.

Sales Skills for Non-Sales People

Read my new friend Sam Meers blog at: http://smokeandmeers.blogspot.com. Sam's latest blog laments that advertising agency account service people are becoming order takers. Account service people within an agency are exactly what their title says: they meet with the agency's clients and present advertising solutions to them. Sound like a familiar task? None of them would ever consider themselves salespeople. The title "salesman" has such a nasty ring to it! I know from teaching college students at the University of Kansas, all are quick to distinguish: sales people represent the media and well, agency people are a more sophisticated lot. Yet the function Sam discusses so clearly are sales functions. Great account service people must probe and question their clients to truly understand their needs. They must then to look find solutions that will solve a client's advertising problem and present their solution to that problem in an effective way that demonstrates their wisdom to a client. It's a skillset traditional sales people who are one percenters understand and constantly work to improve! So I challenge those of you who don't carry the title of "saleman" for your company, to examine your skillset and see if "sales training" could be a valuable tool for you to improve your relationships with your clients. It's a simple question; I'm anxious to hear your answer!