Sales Success Is Found In Doing The Small “Stuff”

The salesperson that sells twice as much is not twice as smart and does not necessarily work twice as hard as everyone else.  During the most recent Winter Olympics held in Vancouver, Canada, there were competitions won by a mere one thousandth of a second and others by as little as one hundredth of a point.  Horse races have been won by a nose, football games by an inch and basketball games by a shot.  The difference between victory and defeat, in some instances, seems almost too small to measure and yet those small measures define both the victorious and the defeated.  Selling is similarly defined by small actions.  In fact, the difference between success and failure in selling could be as small and seemingly insignificant as a word spoken or a thought not acted upon.

Over the course of a thirty-four year sales career I have experienced and witnessed many small things that have made the difference between success and mediocrity in selling.  Many of these things were not apparent at the time, but over time crystallized in my understanding.  As I coach and train salespeople each day, this truth is reconfirmed; it is not the big things that make a difference, but the successive application of small, almost insignificant activities building upon each other that become the reason for outstanding sales performance.  Let me share a few of my discoveries in hopes of improving your individual results.

• Most sales are closed at the end of the month.  Salespeople typically have goals or quotas for the month, but they never seem to make progress towards the achievement of the quota until their awareness has been stimulated by the rapidly approaching last few days of the month.  Imagine the sales that would be made if you worked as hard every day of the month as you work the last week of the month.  Many of my clients reach their monthly goal well before the end of the month and then spend the last week or so working to achieve their super goal.  They may not be working any harder than their peers, but they are more consistent in their efforts and by striving to reach their goal early, they can spend the last week of the month exceeding their goal, not just trying desperately to reach it.

• In my experience I have discovered that most salespeople have no idea of what they are capable of achieving.  They tend to over estimate the ability of others and under estimate themselves.  A person’s belief in themselves and their own ability is a major factor in their success.  You truly can achieve that which you believe.  A few years ago I was working with a salesperson and we were setting goals for his achievement.  We reviewed his numbers from the prior year and then discussed what might be done in the current year.  He cautioned me that one of his sales months was an anomaly and should not be considered when establishing his new goals.  He said that during this particular month, sales that should have closed in the prior month combined with sales that he expected to close the next month had all come at once.  Therefore, in one month he had the results of three months all together.  He wanted that abnormally high month to be eliminated from his average.  I told him that if he had that kind of a result previously he could have it again, and I held him accountable to do it again.  He told me it would be impossible but we worked together to achieve it.  During that year, this salesperson exceeded the sales of that extraordinary month on four different occasions.  The following year, every month exceeded what he sold in that month he considered an anomaly.  Believe in yourself.

• Have you ever considered the power of making one more sales contact a day?  That would be an additional five contacts a week, twenty-one contacts per month, and two hundred and fifty-two contacts a year.  It may seem insignificant, but two hundred and fifty-two more contacts could amount to fifty more sales, assuming your closing ratio was twenty percent.  What about asking for one referral a day?  Referrals typically close at about fifty percent.  You could make two more sales each week if you just asked for a referral each day.  What about your use of time?  Studies have shown that the average salesperson spends fifty percent of their time working on sales and the balance doing other “stuff.”  If you were more focused in your efforts, without spending any more time on the job, you could potentially double your sales.

It is the small things that make a difference.  Things like working hard each day to achieve your goals, instead of waiting till the last few days of the month.  Believing in yourself and your own abilities allows you to reach levels of performance that you only believed others could achieve.  Don’t sell yourself short.  If you have achieved something once, you can do it again.  Never forget the cumulative power of making just one more contact each day, or asking for a referral, or using more of your time focused on selling instead of just doing stuff.  You don’t have to be twice as smart or work twice as hard to double your sales, you just have to pay attention to the small things.

Why Are Some Salespeople So Lucky?

When it comes to sales, I don’t believe in luck.  I don’t believe there is such a thing as a successful salesperson that doesn’t consistently follow a set of principles and skills.  Luck is nothing more than “working smart to position yourself to find those opportunities that others are hopelessly waiting to fall in their laps”.  I honestly believe even when it seems someone has stumbled across a lucrative situation, there was some effort or planning that positioned them to be in the right place at the right time.  What may appear on the surface to be luck, when properly analyzed, is very predictable.

Two of my clients were talking to each other during one of the breaks at our monthly workshop a few months ago.  One of them was totally shocked at the number of referrals the other had received during the past month.  These referrals amounted to more than half his sales for the month.  He expressed his feelings by saying, “I wish I had your same luck in getting referrals.  I don’t get that many referrals in a whole year.”  I coach both of these salespeople so I know the inside story.  The salesperson that believes the other is lucky to get referrals doesn’t make any effort or work a plan to receive them.  He just hopes someone will drop him an occasional lead or referral.  The salesperson that receives half of his sales through referrals has a specific plan and works hard each day at implementing his plan.  He sets a goal for the number of referrals he wants to receive each day and each week.  What may seem like luck is actually the result of diligently working the steps of a well-executed referral strategy.

I was talking to a client today about ways to increase their sales this year over last.  He suggested that if he just kept doing what he was doing, maybe he would be lucky enough this year to exceed last year’s sales.  He then said if he were really lucky he might stumble across and sell a few larger accounts.  That is illogical thinking as far as I’m concerned.  We talked about current customers, the size of the market, the ideal customer profile, and the available time to produce more sales.  We concurred that it takes almost as much time to find and sell a small customer as it does a large customer.  We put together a plan identifying who the large potential customers are, what their needs might be; strategized how to create interest, and which of their current customers might provide an introduction.  As my client works this marketing plan, he will be amazed how “lucky” he will be this year at landing some very large accounts, and in the process, exceeding last year’s sales.

Here are five things that every salesperson can do to increase their “luck.”

1.  PLAN YOUR DAY:  When you plan your sales activities and follow that plan, you will be amazed at your increased “luck.”

2.  SET DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY AND ANNUAL GOALS:  When you are working with a specific result in mind, the energy and focus you put into your activities will generate more “luck” than you can imagine.

3.  WORK HARD AND BE CONSISTENT:  These are difficult economic times and people are holding tight to their limited financial resources.  They are still spending, but are more carefully focused on their potential return.  The opportunities are still there, but you must put forth more effort and do it consistently.

4.  WORK SMART:  Write a game plan for your prospecting activities and then follow the plan.  Don’t spend time continually doing things that don’t bring the highest degree of success.  Once you find an opportunity, make a game plan for what will be required to earn the sale.  Don’t “wing it”, plan it.

5.  HOLD YOURSELF ACCOUNTABLE: “Where performance is measured, performance improves. Where performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates." 

In the world of sales you can be as “lucky” as you are willing to plan, set goals, work consistently hard, work smart and hold yourself accountable.  You have total control over your “luck”.  In fact, by applying the five steps listed above, you will find “luck” is actually very predictable.

Please Don’t Call Me A Salesperson

You can call me an account representative, you can call me a customer service manager, you can call me a territory manager, you can call me a solutions specialist, you can call me a sales executive, you can call me anything you want, but don’t call me a “salesperson.”  I am absolutely amazed at the names people come up with to avoid using the title of “salesperson.”  The length that someone will go to eliminate the title of salesperson when describing what they do, has almost become comical.  I sense that there are those working in the field of sales that suffer great embarrassment to be called a salesperson.

Selling is the world’s oldest profession.  I don’t care what product or service people represent, it needs to be sold before it can be delivered.  Selling has been around since the beginning of time.  Just like any other occupation, there are those who are honest and honorable and then there are those who are dishonest, incapable and everything in between.  I challenge you to think of any profession that doesn’t have its scoundrels and misfits.  The world of selling is no different.  However, we tend to receive more criticism than other professions, probably due to the number of salespeople in the world.  We are more visible and represent a larger proportion of the workforce.  People deal with salespeople every day and have more opportunity to experience unprofessional behavior.

Another compelling reason for the negativity associated with salespeople might stem from the lack of professional training available to those in the industry.  Sales training is a seven billion dollar a year industry, but most salespeople have never been trained to the degree of other professionals.  A doctor will study for as many as ten years before practicing his trade.  An attorney will study seven to eight years before representing a client.  Salespeople just open their mouths and they believe they are qualified to sell a product or service.  They may receive some training along the way, but they never enter the profession with any semblance of the training and skills of other professional.  Sales programs are not generally offered at the college level and some people are looking for what they consider an easy entry into the work force.  They often choose sales because it doesn’t require years of formal education.

Several years ago I attended my twentieth year high school reunion.  In high school I excelled scholastically, socially and athletically.  I was recognized as someone who would achieve great success in life.  I really enjoyed catching up with many of my friends at the reunion and sharing stories of the “good old high school days” as well as the past twenty years that had come and gone so quickly.  Everyone was anxious to learn what we had achieved in our lives and for some it was a pleasant surprise.  However, I don’t think anyone shocked the group quite like I did when I introduced myself as a salesperson.  Actually, I saw a look of sadness and disappointment fall upon the faces of many.  Now, I had attended the top rated business graduate school in the nation, was earning a lucrative six figure income, participated in executive management with men twice my age, traveled regularly on the corporate jet, and dealt with senior executives in my industry on a daily basis.  However, when I introduced myself as a salesperson, I know there were those who pictured me standing on a street corner holding a cardboard sign.

Selling is an honorable profession.  Doctors diagnose illnesses and then seek to cure them while providing comfort for their patients.  Attorneys provide legal solutions to their client’s problems giving them peace of mind.  Salespeople discover the needs wants and desires of their customers and then help them achieve their needs.  Salespeople are much like doctors and lawyers in discovering problems and providing solutions.  I can’t think of a more satisfying profession than sales.  Salespeople can make a significant difference in the lives of their customers and can be the source of great satisfaction, not only for their customers, but for themselves as well.

I’m proud to be a salesperson.  I tell everyone what I do and always refer to myself as a salesperson.  You can call me anything you want, but I will always be a salesperson.

How Effectively Do You Move Prospects Through Your Sales Pipeline?

There are are two major problems that salespeople have with their sales pipeline.  The first is having too few prospects to reach the level of sales you desire and the second is having more prospects in your pipeline than you can possibly follow-up with in a reasonable amount of time.  The first can be resolved with consistent hard work and the second, through better focus and more effective follow-up.  Successful salespeople have developed a plan of action for closing each prospect.  The key to success in selling is found in what you do after you identify the opportunity.

The number one reason salespeople don’t make more sales is poor follow-up.  You can find all the prospects or opportunities in the world, but if you don’t do the appropriate follow-up, they may never know enough about you, your company and product to make a decision.

Your sales pipeline is not a holding tank; it is similar to a production line.  Once a prospect makes it into the pipeline, the objective is to move them through the sales process.  Think of the process as a production line, where certain things are added and formed; where individual components are added upon and turned into a finished product.  The sales pipeline works exactly the same way.  You are taking an opportunity or an interested prospect and turning them into a sale.  The mere fact that you have found an opportunity does not mean they will eventually become a sale.  They need to be processed or manufactured into a sale.  That is the difference between an order taker and a salesperson.  When someone takes an order, they don’t need to do anything to process or manufacture the opportunity.  It is already complete, nothing more needs to be done except filling out the order.  Salespeople have the responsibility of finding the opportunity and then turning that opportunity into a sale.  The process involves the following steps:

1. Building trust in you and your company
2. Understanding the specific needs of the prospect
3. Presenting the best solution for their needs
4. Demonstrating that your solution is exactly what they need
5. Resolving their concerns

I refer to these five steps as “romancing the sale.”  The word romancing has a much deeper meaning than following up.  Romancing suggests a sort of personal action, not just showing up.  It takes the specific action of romancing to process a prospect from an opportunity to a customer.  It is the act of romancing that manufactures the raw opportunity of a prospect into the finished product of a customer.  The better you romance, the better the finished product.  Think for a moment about the characteristics of your very best customer.  What made them your very best customer?  There could be several reasons, but I would be willing to wager that building trust in you and your company, understanding their needs, presenting the best solution to their needs, demonstrating that solution and resolving their concerns were all responsible for them becoming your best customers.

Selling doesn’t happen just because you find an opportunity.  Selling is the result of processing that opportunity as it travels along the production line of the sales process.  With the exception of the prospects that already know what they need, to solve their problems, the salesperson must personally move them through the sales processing pipeline in order to make the sale.

Consider the sales opportunities you have found that never resulted in a sale.  Did you move them through your pipeline by applying the five steps of the process, or did you just put them at the beginning of your pipeline and hoped eventually they would come out the other end as a sale?  Selling takes effort and it far exceeds the initial activity of finding the opportunity.  If you don’t move the prospect through the pipeline by effectively romancing the sale, your success will be limited.  Sales success is in direct proportion to your personal effort in preparing your prospect through romancing.

You will know when you are romancing effectively when the prospect:

• Asks questions when you stop by.
• Thanks you for the valuable information you have shared with them.
• Discusses the value of your offering.
• Begins to negotiate.
• Asks how quickly the product can be delivered.