How do you rate your Sales Intellectual Property?
Let’s first define the term ‘Intellectual Property’ or ’IP’:
Intellectual property represents the property of your mind or intellect. It can be an invention, trademark, original design or the practical application of a good idea. In business terms, this means your proprietary knowledge – a key component of success in business today. It is often the edge which sets successful companies apart and as world markets become increasingly competitive, protecting your intellectual property becomes essential.
Now … let’s define what we mean by ‘Sales IP’:
Sales IP is the insights resulting from a salesperson’s personal research, in-depth knowledge and understanding of their specific industry sector and/or that of their clients’ industry sector/s, gained from continued efforts over an extended period of time.
Creatively finding ways to use your personal Sales IP gives you an edge as a sales professional. You become more valuable to your organisation and to your clients. It also helps you to spot or even create potential business opportunities. From a long term perspective, it will stand you in good stead as you climb the career ladder.
Utilising your Sales IP results in better relationships with your clients as each interaction is more valuable to them. It typically also provides a higher closing ratio, which means more money in the bank for you and your organisation.
Utilising your Sales IP usually generates more respect shown from both buying and selling organisations.
Sales IP gives you an advantage over your competitors because most buying organisations want to deal with those salespeople who have more to offer than just the average Joe. Whilst it’s not the type of intellectual property you can patent, package and sell, you can definitely make some serious money by using it to your advantage.
With enough Sales IP, You could become your very own best value proposition.
