Improved selling in focus, control and order

A passion for sales drives many a successful professional afresh, every day.  Passion, processes, and persistence are the backbone of every sales professional. And if you ask, you may find many have a favorite mantra or quote that they repeat fervently to help them stay focused and indomitably productive. What are yours?  Send them to me (and tell me why they help you) and I’ll try to compile them to share with others through this column.

Here are some of mine. I hope they hold value for you.

Urgent, important, or both? Spend your precious time wisely. My first copy of Stephen Covey’s “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” is dated 1990; it’s well worn. I learned many keys to success from this book but none more than: Know how to decide how you use your time by identifying the difference between ‘urgent’ and ‘important.’  This has kept me working on my goals rather than keeping them on a shelf (goals are important and not to be ignored even if they are not urgent), while managing the tactical steps of everyday business. Dr. Covey taught me how not to react to every tug at my sleeve as though those tugs were equally important and or urgent (some issues are urgent, others can wait until a later date, some don’t need to be done at all-at least by you), and how to guard the time set aside to work on important goals, rather than putting them off until an indefinite ‘tomorrow.’ Today the economy may be wrecking havoc with your business; remind yourself to sift every request for your time and attention with this question: “Is it important, urgent, or both, or neither?” Then prioritize it accordingly.  If you only put out fires all day as they surface, you will miss planning for the future by making new customer calls or learning about the newest products you have to offer your customers. Make sure you are working on both strategy and tactical efforts in a prioritized manner.

“Hard-headed rationality.” “Quality Control.” Peter Drucker, in, “In Search of Excellence” taught me that, “Professionalism in management is hard-headed rationality.” And, “…self-generated quality control is so much more effective than inspector-generated quality control.”  The first quote reminds me the truth is the truth but emotions can taint our view. To avoid getting sidelined by unproductive personal emotion I ‘take the person out of the process’ by mentally removing personality issues from a sales call that I may find less than desirable. Then I can clearly see the issues, and the solutions I need (put the subject personality back in as you devise the communication style you’ll need to convey the message). The second quote from his book presses on me the critical relevance of proofing my own work very well, and never, ever accepting ‘close enough is good enough.” Excellence in one’s sales processes and work product demonstrates an incomparable standard of excellence in what you do; and this reputation when applied to sales creates a brand image that customers will depend on and be drawn to.

“You can’t close a sale you don’t ask for.” Whoever said this decades ago was a genius in simplistic wisdom.  It is natural for many a new sales professional to forget to ask for the sale. But it also happens to many a seasoned veteran when I conduct sales training. Remind yourself to directly ask for the sale.

“One system and only one, if you have more, you really have none.” © Cheryl Kane. So many things we do in daily sales processes and administration are done hundreds of times each month.  In my training sessions I realized many people forget the standing date a report is due, forget to follow up with customers in a timely cycle time standard, forget to back up their electronic data, fail to document the sales call until important elements of it are forgotten and lost for future recall. Why? Because they treated each time they had to do something as though it were a new process.  With a little diligence you can create a finite set of steps and a few rules by which you will carry out repetitious processes; train yourself to stick to the processes you committed to. You will find your efficiency will dramatically improve. For instance: how many of you waste time looking for your keys, every day? Are you late with your expense report repeatedly? Being on time saves you time.

Finding motivation and guidance from others is not a new idea. But applying the meaning of their words to your daily processes may be new to you. Look at your favorite quotes again; use them to clarify processes and bring peace of mind to yourself and order to your sales processes. You will be more effective in your sales goals.

Cheryl Kane, MBA, is a business consultant, trainer, and speaker.  If you have a question you would like to see answered in this column or would like a printer friendly copy of this article, email Cheryl through her web site, www.cherylkane.net