#1 Trips

#2 Face-to-face recognition

#3 Entertainment/dinner/sports tickets #4 Merchandise

#5 Awards/plaques

#6 Mention in company newsletter

For my money, the most crucial word in sales today is obsession. Close behind it are two supporting ideas, utilization and implementation. Let’s talk a little bit about what these three words really mean for you.

Obsession

Every day I’m not training, coaching or consulting, I make fifteen dials. And by making fifteen dials, I can get through to at least ten people. Once I get through to ten people, I’ll usually set up five appointments. I do that several days a week, which, by extension, means that every week I have, on average, ten new sales appointments. I close nine out of ten, so at the end of the year, I should have hundreds of new customers for workshops, consulting or the Inner Circle.

Author and Vice Chairman of General Motors, Bob Lutz, comments in his book “Guts!”, that every successful business he has seen in his life has one thing in common: they are all driven by a leader who has a passion for their business. A leader who is obsessed about success and who is an afficionado of his trade.

I mention my daily routine-my obsession, if you will, my repetitive, second nature approach to sales so that you’ll know I’m not just talking theory here. Many sales articles are written by people who have retired or gotten out of business. I have not retired. I’m too young to retire, and I’m having too much fun to get out of the business. I am an active, professional. I also happen to be founder of one of the country’s top sales training firms. Part of the reason for our success is that the people we work with know that we practice exactly what we preach, day in and day out.

In order for you to be successful in sales, you must be absolutely, positively obsessed with your work while you’re doing it. You have to be so dedicated to the idea that you can satisfy a customer with your product or service that you move into a whole new work realm. A realm where there is simply no place for watching the clock, wishing it were time for a coffee break, or wondering how the Dolphins are going to do against the Patriots this Sunday. That’s not to say there’s no place for any of these things in your life-just that there’s no place for any of these things while you’re working. Now, this doesn’t mean you must take yourself so seriously that you become a workaholic and have a heart attack at thirty-eight. It means you must make a commitment to yourself, and build up a routine that is success-oriented.

Of course, we should note here that obsession without discipline often results in chaos. As obsessive as you want to get about being successful, all that energy must be coupled with discipline or you’re not going to get anywhere.

Utilization

This means utilizing everything at your disposal to increase your success. In a way, it’s being obsessive about getting the most from your environment. Burrow through company brochures and catalogs to learn everything you can about your product. Have regular meetings with your sales manager to discuss your performance and get new ideas. Work with a sales coach. Use motivational CD’s, to put you on the right track. In short, utilize your tools!

Such tools needn’t be limited to things you can hold in your hand. Have you shown customers your office or plant? Have you reviewed past company successes with your prospect? Have you invited current and potential clients to company social outings? Be creative. Once you stop to think about it, you’ll be amazed at how many excellent tools go completely ignored by salespeople.

Implementation

Or, if you prefer, just do it; make the effort in the first place. All the sales books in the world will not help you if you don’t try. Don’t fall prey to the “paralysis of analysis.” One of the beautiful things about sales is that it’s an extremely binary way to make a living. You’re either making a sale and in the process or you’re not. Make every effort to be “on” during every moment you actually communicate with potential customers. Take nothing for granted, and don’t get bogged down with over preparation. Do it.

I realize, of course, that research has its place. But you should never forget that if you don’t make the calls, your efforts are going to be in vain. Selling is selling: going after suspects and prospects and talking to them. Don’t lose sight of that, and don’t let your obsession be misdirected into something that won’t help you put numbers on the board.

Three crucial ideas-obsession, implementation, and utilization. How do you make sure you’re incorporating them? Here are some tips. Make a to-do list. Identify important objectives before you start the day; then work like crazy to attain the objectives on your list. Good selling!

Keep your motivation up. Whatever your approach, make a commitment to find one new idea a month and run with it. Start early. Try coming into the office forty-five minutes before everyone else does. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish, and how big a jump you’ll get on your day. Don’t think of it as an inconvenience-think of it as an advantage. And just do it.

Be obsessive, but disciplined. Utilize everything you have at your fingertips; then implement. It’s a proven recipe for success. Remember: obsession is essential… but obsession without discipline equals chaos!

But before we do that, it might be worth asking a simple question. Why would anyone ever go out and intentionally derail their chosen career? The answer to that is, I think, very simple. Most people don’t make a conscious effort to derail their best efforts, they simply don’t know which actions tend to be most destructive to their careers. It is a matter of awareness, recognition and action. Given that reality, let’s take a look at the 20 Dumbest Things Salespeople Can Do:

1. They don’t become a student of their craft. Professional selling is a science that when practiced correctly can become an art form. Unfortunately, there are lots of salespeople who are more a student of their product than they are of the science and art of selling it. Do your best to study your profession daily, repetitively and in-depth.

2. They don’t “narrowcast” their activity. Some salespeople try to be all things to all people. The most successful salespeople are able to define their market and become specialists who are known for what it is they do. No one can be the master of everything.

3. They fail to position themselves correctly. The concept of attracting customers is more often a function of attraction rather than consistently having to find customers. This is a function of positioning yourself correctly.

4. They fail to prospect. Perhaps the greatest cause of failure in salespeople is an inconsistent flow of qualified prospects. What causes this? Becoming overly comfortable with existing customers, believing you are in control of your marketplace… the list is endless.

5. They get in front of the wrong people. Simply making sales presentations is not enough. Salespeople need to be in front of the right people at the right time with the right message. It is essential to be in front of qualified prospects as often as you can.

6. They listen to their peers. There is very little question the 80/20 Rule is alive and well in the world of selling that 80 percent of the sales are made by 20 percent of the top salespeople. The problem is salespeople listen to the bottom 80 percent! Problems, difficulties and reasons why things can’t be sold often outnumber the reasons why they can be sold according to 80 percent of the people!

7. They don’t understand the economics of their product. Would you sell something for $1.50 that cost you $2.00? Of course you wouldn’t. Lots of salespeople don’t understand the concept of margin versus volume.

8. They mentally spend income before they earn it. The problem? No sale is ever consummated until the check is deposited and, in some cases, until that check is cleared!

9. They fail to ask the right questions. This is often a function of talking and not listening coupled with a simple lack of knowledge.

10. They are either digitally compulsive or digitally impaired. We live in a world of evolving digitalization of processes and systems. The problem? Lots of salespeople who love computers won’t sell, and those who sell are fearful of computers. The secret? Become balanced.

11. They fail to manage their time well. Manage your time well and you will sell well. Manage your time poorly and you will sell poorly. It is as simple as that. The only inventory you have is time.

12. They are either too timid or too aggressive. Salespeople either allow the prospect to direct them or they are too directive with the prospect. The bottom line is simply this: You need to know when to be bold and when to retreat.

13. They fail to match their product offering to the prospect’s stated needs. This is the greatest flaw salespeople have.

14. They can’t deal with change, or change too much. There is little doubt there are massive amounts of change going on. Resist it and you will lose. By the same token, if you change things just to change them – you’re going to be in just as much of a quandary as someone who refuses to react to change at all.

15. They place themselves into a situation in their personal life that lacked a strong support system. Most successful salespeople have a support system that allows them to invest the vast amounts of time, dedication and effort that professional selling requires.

16. They fail to pre-call plan and organize for calls. There is a direct correlation between pre-call planning and long-term sales success. It is as simple as that.

17. They never learn how to ask questions. Remember earlier I discussed the concept salespeople fail to ask the right questions … this is a corollary to that flaw. Asking questions in the correct order, and in a way that is non-threatening, open-ended and qualitative in nature, is essential to sales success.

18. They don’t understand service is part of sales. Sometimes it is as if salespeople fail to recall the importance of referral and repeat business.

19. They fail to provide value-added solutions. This is the salesperson who believes people buy products and services. Instead, they buy solutions and answers to issues they are trying to have resolved, and the more value they see in that solution, the more they’ll buy.

20. They fail to ask for the order. In the final analysis, asking for the order is why salespeople exist. Perhaps one or two of these show their heads in your day-to-day sales career. If that’s the case, work hard to eliminate them. Perhaps, if you are a sales manager you may want to pass this article on to salespeople and identify some of the areas where they have specific weaknesses. By the same token, if you have a handful of things to tackle here, take them on one at a time. Remember, sales careers are not built – or ruined in one day. They are, instead, built or destroyed on long term, consistent activity.

Good selling,

Dave Rothfeld