Difference Between A Salesperson And An Order Taker

 
Are you an order taker or a salesperson? What do both mean and what is the difference between the two?

The difference between a professional salesperson and an order taker is like the difference between a vulture and an eagle. A vulture, sits, perched, and waits. It waits for a meal to develop and appear, usually by something that has died. It then meanders over and scavenges the rotting carcass, and barely survives in a state of half-starvation.

The eagle, on the other hand, does not sit and wait, but goes out, flies around, and finds fresh food. It then swoops down and creates a bountiful meal and enjoys a life of opulence.

Order Taker vs Order Getter

Similarly, an order taker sits around and waits for someone to buy something. The order taker waits for the incoming call. Waits for the web lead from the prospect that has just made an enquiry. The order taker waits for the buyer to say, “I’ll take it!”

It’s a reactive way of selling. Although, I don’t call it selling at all.

The professional salesperson, however, does not wait. The professional salesperson goes out, flies around, and finds opportunities. They find prospects who never even thought about buying anything. The sales pro then helps the prospect by uncovering problems and exposing needs and desire, and then diagnoses those problems, offers solutions, and then solves those problems.

Our Sales Training primarily focuses on order getting rather than order taking. Order taking is more focused around having a good level of product knowledge rather than Selling Skills per se.

Take a look at our popular portfolio of Sales Training Courses.

So, which one are you?

Below are a few questions to ask you.

Of course, depending on what you sell, some may not apply. However, be honest with yourself.

Order Taker or Order Getter

1. What percentage of your sales come from prospects that come to you, verses how many are the result of outgoing prospecting efforts?
2. What percentage of your sales are from lead sources other than your company’s top 2 normal lead sources? (In other words, how many leads are you finding out of the box?)
3. What percentage of sales volume is from add-on, up-sell, or otherwise production that is above the original lead value? (In other words, by what percentage are you able to increase the sale that the buyer already committed to spending?)

When the economy slows and a million other excuses overwhelm the order taker, the true professional salesperson will always go out, reach out, call out to create and generate business.

That’s the major difference between the two.

Here are some useful resources to help you further. Learn how to differentiate between customer needs and wants, learn what sales questions to ask in an interaction and learn how to set sales targets the right way which will keep you motivated and focused.

Happy Selling!

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Sales Training