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Category: Sales
What is your sales “recipe”?
One thing I love about coaching is sharing in my client’s success. Today was a special day. Bill called me all excited: He just received two PO’s that enabled him to achieve his goal for the entire year. That means that in less than three months his sales were now equal to his boss’ expectations for the whole year. How did he do it?
Bill has a lot of good qualities. He plans well, works hard, and knows how to maintain a sense of humor and positive attitude. He also knows how to plan a clear, detailed road map to his goal and get there one foot in front of another. He knows his goal and he knows the type and amount of activity needed to get there. It is not guesswork. He has figured it out through his consistent tracking. Sounds simple, but I find that most sales professionals have no idea of the amount of activity and planning it will take to get to their goals. Not surprisingly, they usually fall short.
Here is an analogy: Last month I had knee replacement surgery. For those who have had this procedure, you know that there is much rehab and physical therapy needed after the operation. If we aren’t disciplined in our exercises, the scar tissue will become stiff in the knee, and we will walk with a stiff leg the rest of our lives. So, we do the exercises! The PT knows just what activity we need to do and to what intensity we need to do it. If we diligently stay with the program, our knee will be fine.
Think about our sales strategy. Like the PT, have we developed our own strategic road map to our sales goals? If not, there is no time like the present. Like Bill, take the time to map out your strategy in detail and employ a daily discipline to stay with it.
Be successful, stay successful, know your customer
“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence”
– Vince Lombardi
Last week my wife and I celebrated Valentine’s Day by having dinner at one of the most famous restaurants in Chicago. We each ordered a steak. My steak cost $70, and my wife ordered a $50 filet. Our expectations were high!
When the steaks were served, we began enjoying each bite. It was delicious and I made sure I cut the meat in extra small chunks so that I could maximize the experience. Along the way I ran into some fat and gristle, and I carefully separated it from the lean meat. When I was finished, the only thing left on the plate was the fat and gristle.
The quickest way to business failure
OK. I know you aren’t reading this because you want your business to fail. You’re just curious. What is the quickest way to get a business to fail? Be rude! With today’s unforgiving social media reviews, one or two poor customer interactions can do serious harm.
Successful sales professionals are good quarterbacks
If you are a sales professional it s quite likely that you have experienced a big deal fall through in the 11th hour. This kind of experience can take the wind out of us. How do we reduce the probability of a big sale crumbling at the last minute? We need to be a good quarterback!
Protect your reputation by owning it
In business, our reputation is the most valuable possession we have. With social media and smarter consumers, building and reserving our reputation must be tantamount.
This week I attended an annual meeting sponsored by an organization I belong to. I was looking forward to both the meeting and the banquet facility. I had been there twice, and in both instances the food and service was excellent. This time, things were different.