Sales people live or die based on one thing, and on thing alone: closing enough deals to keep the lights on. That’s it. If you’ve got a sales oriented job, then you need to do that, above all else, or find a new line of work. it really is that simple.
The problem of course, is in the how. How, precisely do you do that in such a way that you can get the important work of selling done, and do enough of it on a consistent basis to excel? Read on and find out the three things you can do to sell more, while keeping all of your sanity and most of your hair.
Recognize That It’s Not Just A Numbers Game
Yes, numbers are important. You’re much more likely to make a sale if you make forty sales calls than if you make two, but quality matters too. Which do you think will get you more sales, making forty substandard, phoning it in type sales calls, or making twenty world class, top of your game sales calls? This is proof positive that while the numbers matter, they’re not the only thing that matters. Get it done, yes, but get it done well.
Important Work Trumps Urgent Work
Urgent work are those crazy little bits of administrivia that come along throughout the course of the day that distract you from your A#1 goal of making sales. Things like, “The boss needs that spreadsheet five minutes ago.” “We have to have your projections into corporate by end of day today”. Bob from accounting needs this. Sally from HR needs that, and on and on and on.
The problem of course, is that most people let the urgent work take a front seat to the important work. That’s backwards. The important work is what keeps food on the table and gas in the tank. Do it first. The secret to the urgent work is two-fold. One, better planning and organization so that the urgent work never becomes urgent, and as such, never becomes a distraction, and two, outsourcing when and where possible. If you’ve got a secretary or assistant, leverage his or her expertise to help you get the urgent work done ahead of time, so it’s never urgent. If you don’t, consider hiring one on your own. You can get a perfectly competent VA (Virtual Assistant) for a few bucks an hour, essentially offshoring all the tedious work that’s keeping you from getting down to the business of making sales. Do it, and do it today.
Train, Train, Train
Nobody likes training. Most of the time, the trainers don’t even like training, but the bottom line is, if you feel that you need improvement in a given area, go get improved in that area. That means training. It doesn’t matter if said training comes by way of where you work, or you find it elsewhere. Get the training you need to do your job better, faster, and more efficiently. If you can’t, or aren’t willing to do that, then find something else to do for money.
Sales work is hard, and oftentimes thankless, but not without its perks and rewards. For the right person, there’s no better job. Make your peace with the negatives that come with the job, find a happy place to thrive in the positives, and sell like your life depends on it, because it probably does.
