Nature vs. Nurture: Sales Traits You Can Learn – Part 3

Be sure to read Part One and Part Two of this seriesNormally we consider organization to be an inborn trait and it isBut what is amp8220organizedamp8221 And how do organizational abilities relate to sales success You can compare amp8220organizedamp8221 to amp8220being in shapeamp8221amp160 But what does amp8220in shapeamp8221 meanamp160Doesnamp8217t it depend on what athletic thing you are doing Being in shape so that you look good in a bathing suit is different from being in the right shape needed to swim the English ChannelThere is no amp8220in shapeamp8221 that exists in a vacuum One is only in shape for a specific activityIn the same way the goal is not to be organized per se although that makes some things work more smoothly The real goal is to be organized around the taskamp160For naturally organized salespeople this is somewhat easier to doamp160 But for the naturally disorganized seller and frankly for most sellers organizing around the task must be learnedTo be organized around a task means the organizational system in place should work even as the seller gets busier than they have ever been Now they are moving faster and selling more stuff than they have ever soldamp160The goal of being organized around a task is to account for all of the potential failure points which are those things that usually hinder any attempt to increase velocity and scaleEvery day a salesperson will have more things to do than they can fit in their day No amount of organizational skills can change that If I find a way to organize myself so that I am more productive I will not use the saved time for relaxation Instead I will leverage the new level of organization to achieve a new unprecedented level of being busy but now more productivelyCan an undisciplined person learn to use organization as a way to prioritize and complete their tasks What tasks do sellers need to become organized aroundA good organization system custom fit to the tasks is what prevents the things that normally stop you from actually getting in your way Yes organizing is a discipline but the purpose of discipline is to give you more freedom not less Framed up in this way even the laziest person can and will be inspired to do thisIn sales these are the four particular tasks you need to organize yourself aroundGetting more sales some of them biggerNegotiating more of the right solutions at the right price and marginsAttracting more business from existing customersFinding new customers amp8211 inside and outside of your existing client baseSo how do you go about this and how can you avoid the typical failure pointsThese are the main issues youamp8217re likely to encounter1 Not getting more specific about the exact challenge so you can create a clearer targetYou need specific numbers and benchmarks for results and activities against each goalThe first set of numbers are the ideal numbers what is the right number of deals to close each month Working backward what is the right number of proposals meetings prospecting calls etc needed each month to reliably achieve those sales targetsWhen you systematically look at your actual numbers you should first compare those actual numbers to these ideal numbers so you can adjust your activity accordinglyMeasuring causes success without data there is no improvement Not only does this kind of tracking help you coach yourself it helps you be your own cheerleader Itamp8217s very encouraging to watch your own numbers improve2 Not reverse engineering prior failed attemptsWhile itamp8217s important to be optimistic nothing beats the power of negative thinking You need to push yourself mentally into the future and imagine that itamp8217s a year from now By this point you now know if in fact youamp8217ve reached your sales goalsImagine you missed your goal This mental action leverages the power of negative thinking More than positive results negative or disappointing results will cause you to study what went wrongA year from now what will you conclude you should have done better today Better to think of that now a year ahead while there is still time to benefit from that insightUse your organization system as a way to put a bridge over your failure points so you can get past them break through old barriers and keep yourself on track3 Not being honest about your timeWhile there is always more than one right way to spend your time there are huge consequences to spending any time on anythingWhat is the opportunity cost What could you have done instead And how would that other activity have benefited you over timeDonamp8217t fall into bad habits by not spending enough time prospecting You need to schedule time with yourself to prospect generate leads follow up and pencil in weekly first appointments Once salespeople learn to properly organize themselves around these tasks and successfully hit their goal they will never go back to their old waysThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillageMyersBizNet management or associated bloggers

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Nature vs. Nurture: Sales Traits You Can Learn – Part 3

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Steve Bookbinder

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

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Nature vs. Nurture: Sales Traits You Can Learn – Part 3

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Steve Bookbinder

The Ad Council, Huntsman Mental Health Foundation and Amazon Announce “The Mind Set” to Support Mental Health - Ad Council InSites

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