Enterprise managers attending a recent “Telecom Auditing Secrets” seminar in Washington, D.C., came away with a revelation they didn't anticipate: That dealing with a superior sales representative is even more important than selecting the most qualified communications company.

Contrary to popular opinion, many decision makers within enterprises prefer a thought-provoking services proposal that meets their needs most efficiently and effectively, rather than a sales pitch offering the most obvious, lowest-cost solution. Enterprises crave salespeople who are savvy enough to understand their business needs, match the right solutions to those needs and provide a rationale for their recommendations. They want reps who can provide them with good reasons to upgrade their existing services and buy new ones.

The challenge for carriers, then, is finding sales reps who are truly capable of explaining complex services and technology while helping customers see beyond the price tag. Even the brightest, most skilled sales reps cannot be whiz-bang consultants on a constantly growing and changing portfolio of services — much less experts on the technological complexities of each offering.

But the capacity glut created by overbuilt infrastructures and the vacancies created by dead competitors represent an enormous opportunity to sell new and compelling services. Success lies in giving sales reps the tools they need to become truly consultative sellers, capable of selling all products and services effectively — not just the easy-to-understand, low-cost services that are easy to sell.

Carriers must determine why some salespeople are more successful than their peers. Which elements of their sales methodology differentiate them from poor performers? What best practices should be replicated? Providers must give their sales stars a forum in which to share practical wisdom and provide incentives to reward success. They must learn how to re-energize their salespeople with business insights that are contextually relevant.

A new breed of sales effectiveness systems is proving to be the much-needed tonic that will enable all carrier salespeople — not merely the President's Club honorees — to attain world-class selling performance levels. Before this can happen, though, executives must take a good, hard look at their businesses to determine if the time is right to start focusing on top-line revenue growth again. They must determine if they are ready to shift their corporate strategy from a total focus on cutting costs to one of profitability through sales revenues. While you may not be able to cut your way to profitability, you can certainly learn to sell your way out of a hole.

DOSSIER: DAVID H. DEANS

• Occupation: Senior Partner, Deans & Associates; Founder, Economic TeleDevelopment Forum
• Location: Austin, Texas
• Current reading: “Rethinking the Sales Force: Redefining Selling to Create and Capture Customer Value” by Neil Rackham and John De Vincentis
• Favorite Web sites: http://daviddeans.webhop.net; http://etf.webhop.net
• Next project: Evangelize the Freestyle Marketing doctrine that I'm currently writing for my clients