Colleen’s Blog

You have the best product on the market, the best price, and the best service available. Yet, you still feel a void between yourself and your client. Emails and calls are short and to the point, and you may even feel anxious about your client ending the business relationship unexpectedly. You never really know where you stand with your client, professionally and personally. Have you felt like this before? I've said it before, and I'll say it again. What truly defines a great salesperson isn't what happens during the sales process, but what happens afterwards.

We can discuss sales strategies, ideas, tips and methods to no end. However, at times even the best salesperson struggles to achieve results not because of a weak strategy, but because of little to no focus on their productivity. Let’s cut to the chase. The best way to achieve true productivity in your work day is to cut off all inbound access to you. Now, before your jaw drops too low, let me clarify that you should only do so temporarily, ideally an hour or two each day. Consider turning your phone to silent or completely turning it off, as well as logging out of your email inbox while you have important tasks to attend to. When you are focusing on your outbound business development prospecting, you should not have to deal with distracting, time consuming tasks which take the focus out of your work day. Want a perfect example of how this simple tweak in productivity can benefit you?

You know what needs to be done to achieve success. You know that it takes hard work and effort. In fact, I’ve never met a SUCCESSFUL salesperson who did not put in the time and did not take the action required in order to generate positive sales results Unfortunately, it is often easier to choose the safe, easy, and familiar route. I’ve seen entirely too many salespeople convince themselves that they will not be successful no matter what instead of working hard to prove that they truly can be. In fact, here are just a few of the common excuses I hear from salespeople and business owners who are asked to implement a new plan:

Have you noticed the number of personable business owners who can’t manage to get their sales results to a level that they are happy with? They understand their industry and are likable as well, yet their prospects always seem to brush them aside for their competitors. Does this sound familiar? Many salespeople today seem to believe that the influx of new communication technologies that have arrived over the past 5-10 years are insignificant and meaningless to their selling. Nothing could be further from the truth. Too many salespeople still rely on their smile, firm handshake or charm to get them more sales. Chances are, they aren’t happy with their results.

Are you looking to create a bigger impact on potential employers? Do you want to stand out as a candidate? I often provide sales tips and advice for salespeople who are already well-established in their roles or companies. However, the sales world is ever-changing, fluid, and subject to adaptations as time goes on. When you need a change and begin searching for new sales employment, it’s important to stand out as a candidate. After all, let’s be honest, salespeople these days are a dime-a-dozen. Sadly, most resumes are mechanical, robotic descriptions of previous employment and activities. To truly make a statement, you need to focus on results.

Have you ever put together a sales strategy which you believed to be near flawless, only to see it fail in the long run? In my 12 years of consulting, I have rarely (and I mean rarely!) come across a seriously flawed sales strategy. However, I have come across many (and I mean many!) sales strategies which ultimately fail. So, what’s the missing link? If most sales strategies are sound and concrete, why do so few of them make a lasting impact? The key is in the execution. That’s right, most sales strategies don’t fall apart because they are bad strategies, they fail when they are put into action and implemented! I once had a sales VP complain to me about her failed sales strategy. When I asked her about the implementation of this particular strategy, she admitted that she had never really looked into how it was actioned. In fact, she hadn’t even presented the strategy to the sales reps who were expected to create success with it...seriously! Here are a few steps to ensure that your sales strategy achieves success beyond it’s conception.