54. What is the one skill all successful sales people use?
An airplane flying from Chicago to NY is off course as much as 97% of the time, however the pilot keeps adjusting and making corrections.
The first step for a sales person to stay on course is to make a list of the things you have to do tomorrow and number them in the order of importance.
You have to continually monitor your progress to make sure you are heading in the right direction, or in case you have to change and adjust your plan.
Selling is unlike many other professions in that you have to keep yourself motivated and organized on a daily basis. Many other types of work are built on the routine of doing something over and over again, however, selling requires a review of your battle plan every day or, at times, every hour.
You have your over all objectives as well as the accounts you must see on any given week, but as you begin each day you have new situations and opportunities that did not exist yesterday.
The most important thing you can do at the end of each day is make a list of the things you have to do tomorrow and number them in the order of importance. It is important to do it at the end of each day. If you wait until morning you may forget an important item. Also by doing it at the end of the day your subconscious mind will have a chance to work on your list during the night and help you solve your problems while you sleep.
Things will come up to change our program, however, a numbered list will give you a track to run on and will keep you working on the most important things first.
To stay on course spend one hour each day or four hours each week carefully planning each sales call you are going to make.
Planning is one of the most important activities of a sales person. The shorter the time we have to spend with each customer, the more important it is that we carefully go over each step of our sales plan.
Winston Churchill was once asked how long it would take him to prepare for a 10 minute speech. He said he would like at least a month's notice. When asked how far in advance for a one hour speech he said at least a week, and when asked how long he needed to prepare for a four hour talk he said he could start now.
He made an excellent point for planning sales presentations. To make an effective 10 minute presentation takes careful planning and organizing. If you were going to spend four hours with a customer it would not be necessary to spend a lot of preparation time because everything you want to discuss will come out in the course of the four hours.
A professional sales person will spend at least one hour in planning time for each day of selling. It takes that much time to write letters, make appointments, prepare presentations and carefully think about the details of each call we are going to make.
Staying on course takes practice. Just as the airline pilot has to go through months and months of training, so do sales people.
Many times a sales person does not have the advantage of being a "co-pilot" with the opportunity to study under an experienced "pilot". This is one of the reasons selling has such a high failure rate. It is a lonely, difficult job. However, that is why the rewards are so great.
Comments:
I firmly believe in the “having no plan is a plan to fail’ montra. It is vitally important to know with whom you need to speak, what their “hot” buttons are, and knowing what they look to achieve. There is no way to know these things without planning. You cannot make an effective presentation without the proper plan. And remember……your first 30 seconds IS and probably the MOST important presentation. You cannot make a sale in the first 30 seconds of meeting someone, but you can certainly lose one.
Bill Hatfield
Getting an early start to my day I find is the best thing I can do because like you said as a sales person, you can run off track very easily. Getting a good start to the day, knocking off tasks on my “to do list” quickly in the morning, helps leave time later in the day for unexpected things as they come up… and they do come up. I try to make a list, keep notes and use my day planner as much as possible to ensure I don’t forget to do something on the day I need to do it. As unexpected things come up throughout the day, it is very easy to forget to do something if it is not written down somewhere on the day it needs to be taken care of.
I think being organized is something I can be continually working on and I find new ways of organizing myself all the time. Last week I started using the voice memo on my phone to help make a list of things I need to do while I am driving. I find a lot of times when I am on the road I do nothing but think of all of the things I have to do that are not written down and I worry I may forget something. This helps me remember by repeating these tasks out loud to myself and it is recorded so I can refer back to it later in the day if needed.
Kristen Storer
Sometimes I am only allowed 30 seconds to state my purpose in front of a potential customer. I have to plan and tailor my words to immediately appeal to that customer and make me stand out from the competition.
Having your sales calls mapped out when you start is a great stress reliever and also saves gas.
Crocker Smith
I don’t think you can do too much planning and being flexible with your plan when you are in sales. But, making your list of the most important things will definitely help you stay on track and get more accomplished. I appreciate all the good information you are giving me.
Vickie Reihl
Careful planning is needed to make almost every sales call a success. Plan each day in advance and schedule yourself enough time to get to all your appointments and have enough time to spend with each client. Planning your day the day before can be a big help. By waiting till the morning before, there is a good possibility that you are going to forget something that you need to do or follow up on from the day before.
David Bradley
I completely agree with this. I am constantly making notes and lists all day every day. It might be in a notebook, folder or a board. When we as sales people get busy we need to attempt in every way possible to keep organized. I have found out, especially lately, that I need to make lists in order to accomplish everything. This hasn’t always been the case. But at times we get very busy and it’s necessary to stay organized in order for everything to get accomplished. Post It Notes and dry erase boards are lifesavers.
Brandon Sanchez
Planning is the one skill that all successful sales people must possess. I haven’t been in sales long, but I don’t believe that it’s possible to be successful in this business if you spend everyday just “winging it.” I have learned that utilizing every minute of the day is so important. Most the time, there aren’t enough hours in the day, so wasting any time can really hurt. In order to utilize all of your time you must have a plan.
Matthew Thacker
Planning ahead of time is like a roadmap. You just need to follow it or change it if necessary to get you where you want to go. Planning your obligations take the frustration out of the day. It assures you that the necessary things get done and get done on time. Learn what you want to accomplish. Your can have whatever you want, but you must enough to do the things that have to be done to get it. The main thing is to plan your work then work your plan!
Yessie Narvaez
Having a numbered list of activities that I must complete each day gives me structure and keeps me on track. In the recruiting world there are so many things that can occur at any given time through out the day that can distract you. As I complete the tasks listed I also get the feeling of accomplishment. The days when I mark only a few I don’t have the same feeling. It will add stress until I get back on track.
Carla McCrea
This is where the 90 day planner comes into play. Just making sure if you call a client and told them you will follow up in a week, then do it!! Every salesperson needs to understand they have to be their own motivator. Sometimes sales people have those days where you just don’t feel like making those sales calls. You are the only person that is going to kick your butt to do something about it. Yes the rewards can be endless depending on how hard you work.
Danah Parmley
Planning and organization are the key to success, in many situations. Sometime planning can be very detailed and difficult sometimes it will just take a second get you thoughts together and resume whatever the task is. I do think that planning for a 10 minute presentation is much harder than an hour long presentation. Because you have to fit and hours worth of talking and dealing into 10 minutes.
Morgan Frazier
"A professional sales person will spend at least one hour in planning time for each day of selling. It takes that much time to write emails, make appointments, prepare presentations and carefully think about the details of each call you are going to make."