Sales - Three Critical Behaviors

For nearly 25 years I’ve been in the sales world, including training and coaching many individuals and teams along the way.  Through all of this, I believe that ultimate success or failure comes down to three critical behaviors.  Most everything else falls within these three or have far less overall impact.  So, if you are not selling as much as you would like, or if you are, but you’re giving away your life and profits to do it, evaluate your results on these three points:

Ø  Activity – Are you “worthy” of the results you desire based on what you schedule in your calendar - # calls, # appointments, etc?  Do you “touch” enough real opportunities, open enough doors, see enough people, and reach out enough times?  In terms of new business activity, are you sitting still, warming up, jogging, running or sprinting?

Ø  Quality (skill) – As you increase your activity level, are you working your processes with quality and skill? Are you communicating well - asking good questions and actively listening?  Are you asking for the work, for testimonials, for referrals?  Do you know how to do these things? Have you scripted any of your processes?  How well do you know your industry, product and competition?

Ø  Attitude (mindset) – John Maxwell calls this the “difference maker”.  What are you thinking when you pick up that phone, knock on that door or ask for the order? Do you expect to succeed or expect to fail? Are you the apologetic salesperson whose voice tone rises when asking for a commitment? Do you believe in yourself, your company, your product or service?  Do you feed your mind with the attitudes, ideals and success you want to reap?

Now, this isn’t likely new for anyone – we all inherently know these things.  But do we?  To know and not to do is not to know.  The challenge is that common sense is often not consistently applied.  Pay attention to, and ultimately address, these three areas, and you’ll begin to see tremendous results.  By the way, if you are asking which to focus on first, I suggest activity.  Why? – It’s a whole lot easier to steer a car once it’s moving!