The Marquee Account

There are some businesses that salespeople would love to have on their list of clients. Big, splashy names that say you're someone to work with. Those companies are great, but sometimes the costs can outweigh the benefits. Read on, before you decide you must have that big name account!

Problem: Tony was looking for advice on how to sell a high profile prospect who was constructing a large new distribution center in his territory. Tony's company sold and installed voice and data cabling and new construction was its primary market. Tony said that the buyer insisted that the business would go to the vendor who had the best price since they regarded voice and data cabling as a commodity, so clearly price would be the only real buying criteria. That, unfortunately, would virtually eliminate Tony's company since they were definitely not the low price alternative. He said he had probed extensively for pain and found none. The actual dollar value of the business was not great and Tony said he wanted to focus on better prospects, but Bill, his sales manager, was adamant that he continue pushing to get this business. Tony felt that his only real alternative was to drop the price and "buy" the business, but he was afraid they'd lose money on the deal. He felt trapped.

Analysis: Most business owners, sales managers and salespeople have their wish list of "marquee" accounts that they are desperate to have on their customer list. Having high profile accounts is a great idea, but some of these companies should not be on anybody's list. Sometimes they are just too difficult to do business with. However, this blind obsession often overrules good judgment. People become emotionally involved in selling these prospects and find it very difficult to take "no" for an answer. So they often offer concessions that do not make good business sense and they invest far too much valuable selling time trying to close the deal. While they're doing this they run the risk of neglecting existing customers, making costly concessions and missing some real opportunities for lack of time.

Prescription: Obsession may be a great name for a perfume, but it has no place in the world of sales. The more emotionally attached you are to a piece of business, the less objective you'll be. Have you ever celebrated after you won a big, high profile deal only to regret it later? If it's not good business for you, let your competition have it. (Letting them deal with low margin, problem accounts actually might be a good business strategy.) You should evaluate every piece of business on its merit, and if makes good business sense, go get it. Don't obsess with a big name account just because of the marquee value.

Whetstone Group is a sales process improvement company that focuses on helping companies implement a proven sales process that will increase sales, shorten the selling cycle, increase closing rates, and improve margins. Learn more at www.whetstonegroup.com