Low Hanging Fruit

Seamus Brown is a refugee from the high-powered sales world of Silicon Valley...who now runs a sales training and coaching firm out of Grass Valley, CA, from his website, www.industrialego.com. In a recent newsletter, he describes the danger of picking of "low-hanging fruit"...from a sales perspective.

Verbatim...here is what he says:

Have you ever heard another salesman say "I'm going after
the low-hanging fruit"?

Or "There's lots of low-hanging fruit in this territory"?

I certainly have heard this sales cliché hundreds of times.

The low-hanging fruit is the stuff that is "easy to pick",
because it hangs low and you don't have to "work" to get it
by climbing the tree or getting a ladder.

Likewise in sales, low-hanging fruit is supposed to be the
"easy sales".

What is attractive about the low-hanging fruit is that we
typically define these deals as ones where the prospect is
ready to make a purchase.

Now if you already have a relationship with the prospect and
you have gotten into the account early before all the
others, then a prospect who is ready to make a purchase is a
*very* qualified deal.

But if you are just finding out about a deal that is ready
and in the market make a decision, then you should be very
concerned.


OVER-HANDLED FRUIT GOES BAD

Unfortunately there is a problem with the low-hanging fruit.

Do you know what that problem is?

The "fruit" has been handled too much.

You see, when there is low-hanging fruit out there,
everybody knows about it.

And everybody wants to touch it, have it, have it, pick it,
and eat it.

Every salesman in the territory knows about the low-hanging
fruit.

So what seem to be the easiest deals are instead the *most*
competitive deals you can play in.


ONLY ONE CAN ULTIMATELY HARVEST THE FRUIT

In the end though, only one person can pick that piece of
fruit and eat it, and only one salesman can close the sale
and fatten his wallet.

So the next time you get a lead that says they are ready to
make a purchase, and "Can we come and look at your product",
beware.

This is probably a piece of fruit that has been handled too
much.

Such potential sales should be qualified extra hard.

Here's a few questions you should ask of the deals that
sound to-good-to-be-true:


o Why are they calling You?

o Why are they calling You Now?

o Who is in the deal besides You?

o How long have they been looking at Your Competitors?

o Why don't they just purchase from one of Your Competitors?


Now I am not telling you to pass on every piece of low-
hanging fruit. Some people can do very well playing here as
long as you know your's and your competitor's strengths and
weaknesses really well.


LOOK HIGHER UP ON THE TREE

What I do suggest if you want to have the most success in
selling, is to look higher up on the tree.

The fruit that is higher up on the tree hasn't been handled
very much. It is harder to get.

There are accounts in your territory right now that could be
a prospect for you. They may need something a few months or
more later on this year.

Those are some of the best accounts to prospect in.

But you have to prospect differently.

When you are looking for the low-hanging fruit, typically
all you do is ask someone if they are in the market to
purchase the type of product you sell.

I call this method of prospecting "polling".

When you look higher up on the tree, you prospect for
problems. You look for problems that you can solve well with
your product.

When you prospect higher up the tree like this, you get
better access to decision-makers, and you have significant
influence over their decision criteria.

Its ultimately about being proactive in your territory, and
focusing on finding the prospects that are best for you to
sell to.

Comments

[Niche Traffic Sale]

The concept of low hanging fruit is certainly one that has become popular in the marketing world, especially internet marketing

As more and more people get on line either to promote their own products or other people's products [affiliate marketing] the opportunities for finding low hanging fruit to market becomes less and less.

[Jeff Paul Internet Millions]

well we have agree that these deals as ones where the prospect is ready to make a purchase.

[Buy Kamagra]

i love the info at this site... thanks

[Pat Shaughnessy]

--in this anthology, is the tree the sales cycle/sales funnel? Are the decision-makers branches or leaves? All this talk of fruit is making me hungry!

--Sorry couldn't resist.

I always took the phrase "low-hanging fruit" in a territory to mean well qualified for our type of product or service as in: Ideal customer or target/key account. Good fit = better relevance and fewer issues.
good post
thanks
pat

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