Blog

Picking Up the Pieces That The Previous Sales Rep Left Behind

Steve Lieberson

Transitioning to a new market. picking up where someone else left off.

After 12 years commuting from South Jersey to the NY/NJ Metro area I decided to take on a new role of building out CDI in the greater Philadelphia area. It’s a no brainer right? In the car 5 to 6 hours per day, versus 2 hours…the decision was easy.

As I begin to make the transition in to a new market I have discovered my first real challenge. Consider this; most sales people who are part of a VAR organization are quote providers – typically leaving the architecture to their vendor partners or the client directly. This unfortunately leaves a bad taste translating to the misconception: VAR = lowest price.

I recall my first sales call to a perspective client in early January. Not even five minutes into the meeting the first thing I hear is, “Are you a Cisco Gold partner? What kind of discounts can you give me?” At that very moment I debated packing up and leaving…but in an effort to get back on track I addressed our partner status (which is Gold coincidentally), and asked if I could continue with the meeting. Partner status – while important – doesn’t define the real value an integrator provides. A concept obviously lost on previous sales reps to make their mark in this territory. Eventually we were back on track, but a great deal of time will be spent to get beyond the “Give me a Quote” mentality which doesn’t benefit the organization in the least.

The lesson learned from this meeting is that you cannot go it alone. Our vendor partners and existing client base acting together as a reference is critical to success. This endorsement lends credibility to our sales efforts and bypasses the “lowest price” misconception.

More to follow on the trials and tribulations of building a business in a new market…

Steve Lieberson

Steve Lieberson

Steve Lieberson brings a wealth of sales and management experience to CDI’s expansion within the Philadelphia (Mid-Atlantic) territory. His unparalleled work ethic combined with his passion for cultivating client relationships has made Steve one of the area’s top salespeople within the Healthcare industry. Steve has his sights set on the Philly market, and his blog will echo his experiences through the journey of introducing CDI in a new territory.