We are experiencing a seismic shift of the sales process as it moves from a single salesperson calling on prospects to to a team-based approach. A recent article at Selling Power lays out the roles the varies team members should play. The article comes from The Fisherman’s Guide to Selling: Reel in the Sale €“ Hook, Line and Sinker, authored by Joe DiMisa. Here are the 6 basic roles as defined by him:
- The Leader: This ONE person pilots the meeting or discussions.
- Color commentator: This person will add “color” or important facts or statistics relevant to key issues.
- Note taker: This person records comments, decisions, agreements, needs, and action steps.
- Bagman: This person brings all the materials for your presentation including handouts, copies, collateral, and equipment.
- Name taker: This person records meeting participants and collects their contact information such as business cards.
- Coordinator: This person makes sure everyone has a role and understands that role and its importance to the meeting, typically the account person.
DiMisa adds that one person can assume more than one role. For example, the note taker can also be the name taker and the bagman. He also suggests you take the cue from our customer and don’t bring in your entire team to meet with one person – you don’t want to overwhelm them.