"Some of our easiest sales have come through a IT Manager who used to work in a company in Delhi and then moved to Mumbai. This guy happened to be very well networked in the IT community in Mumbai and he referred us to a BPO, a large retail client, a bank and a manufacturing company, all of which were his good friends. Besides this, he has also given us business from his own company.
This taught us one thing. The best support that a sales team can get is from their own happy customers who shift due to career reasons. Too often we salespeople lose touch with our customers, but attrition is the best thing that could happen to us. If we have developed multiple relationships with our accounts, then attrition results in no loss in the existing account which continues as before and if we follow the employee to the new account, the sales increase!!!.
Problem is - too many salespeople believe using references is a sign of weakness, they want to do it alone, be independent.
Institutional sales is however not a one man "cowboy" routine, it requires building relationships at multiple levels, a greater team game.
............example contributed by Amit Patil, AVP & Sales Head at an IT company headquartered in Mumbai.
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