All of us, whether we like it or not are creatures of habit.
The sad part is that we’re often unaware of the things we do, day in and day out simply because they’re habits.
Here are 8 things for you to think about to change things up, refocus and maybe enjoy the week a little bit more in the process.
1) Take a look at the activities you have planned for this week and then make sure that everything you have planned will directly help you get a new account, “WOW” an existing account and grow your book of business. The challenge we face is that we inadvertently get caught up in the administrative side of what we do for a living. While administrative work is a necessary evil, it doesn’t move us ahead as sales professionals. It can also serve as an “avoidance activity” for you to avoid rejection. Think about that whenever you find yourself justifying a lack of activity. Remedy: Get the new account acquisition, WOW activities and account development activities on your calendar and be really protective when it comes to guarding them!
2) Make sure that you aren’t just utilizing the phone or just the phone and email. How about sending something through the mail like a card, direct mail piece with a personal note, something funny or creative, something sent via FedEx? How about reaching out through a social network, a mutual friend or asking for a referral? Everyone has their own preferred platform for communication and if you only limit it to phone and email and they prefer something else . . . you limit your options. Plus, quite selfishly, changing it up caters to how we’re wired as sales professionals. We like variety so consider working with that and stop fighting it!
3) Think of one idea that you will present to a customer or prospect this week. Imagine calling with a no strings attached idea instead of “calling to check in”. Sounds a tad more memorable. No?
4) Plan your drive time better. According to the US Census Bureau the average American spends 50 minutes commuting each day. Needless to say, that number dramatically increases if you are in sales. How will you use that time to learn, to think, to make calls, maybe use the voice recorder app on your smart phone to jot down names of businesses you pass, etc. It might not seem like a lot of time but 50 minutes a day adds up quickly to the tune of 5 weeks a year. How will you spend your 5 weeks this year?
5) Think about the business you’ve been avoiding and consider challenging that with a simple “Why?” Perhaps you listened to a coworker who told you something about that business? Maybe your own fears kept you away? Maybe you were rejected by them at some point? Things change and perhaps today is the day you break free of your limiting assumptions.
6) Reach out to at least 3 people in your social network this week and actually be “social” by suggesting a call to get to know each other. If you’ve already done that, perhaps you could drop a note to keep in touch or for the gold star, send them a card or something through the old fashioned mail. I know . . . Imagine that 🙂
7) Look at your last two weeks of activity and send thank you cards to everyone who helped you in some way. Think appointments, think assistants and I would even think about someone you spoke with on the phone who was very helpful. When you get done with that you can go ahead and send a thank you to your teammates too.
8 Make a commitment to laugh more, smile more and just embrace an overall attitude of NOT taking this all so seriously.
And now the left hook . . .
Go back and read this list again while doing one thing different . . .
For every one of these suggestions that you said “Duh” “No sh*t” “I know that” “That’s ‘Sales 101” feel free to ask yourself “But am I actually doing it or am I too busy telling the world that I know that?”
And while you’re at it . . . stop complicating this stuff by looking for big sophisticated answers.
The problem with that is that you pass hundreds of simple answers along the way.
Wishing you an epic week ahead!
FYI . . .
I help individuals and organizations sell more. To learn more about how, click here or send me an email
