Tips & Insights for Top Performance

Because of the nature of many sales jobs (and other jobs too, but especially sales), it is common to get seduced into following the “urgent” carrot. This “urgent” carrot is whatever opportunity for a sale that is in front of me. I see the potential sale, I follow it. Period.

This model might work for some, but for many it leads to reactionary cycles that are unproductive and lead to a life of 24/7 work life with burnout and no balance. Things fall in the cracks, promises and follow-thru is compromised and it feels like you never quite have enough time.

Today, one of my clients, who is working on mastering sales productivity, and I reviewed his keys to success. These points are what he attributes to his success in his upper end service based sales (high-end design-build landscaping) and are also relevant to many others… as they are basic productivity keys:

1. Do a power hour to get your important things done. This is that one hour each AM to focus NOT on your to do list, rather on the important things you need to do but often do not “get to”.

2. Ask for and know peoples budget. Sometimes this can seem like a question you want to wait to ask and might not be right for all professions, however, it is a great qualifying question. Your goal is to sell. If your buyer has no dollars for the purchase it really doesn’t matter how great of a sales person you are. While you might squeak a sale out of a person like this, the chances are there are other more ripe prospects. Spend your time on people who can afford and are ready to buy your product.

3. Qualify your jobs. Don’t waste time with unqualified jobs. Again, different sales models require different approaches, but if your target is a big fish, don’t fill your time with small fish. If your target is small fish, then do small fish activity. The key is to know what is a qualified lead for you and pursue those. In the world with many demands on your time, this is one way to work to spend your time with prospects that have greater potential. It is a very simple concept, but many sales people move forward without qualifying the lead. Write down 3 attributes of your buying clients. Use this to help you qualify hot leads from cold leads.

4. Know your VALUE proposition. Why should people spend money with you? What makes you different than others? What makes your product or service worth it. As a sales person you have to believe in what you are selling and you have to be able to communicate the value or worth. It is a competitive market, what sets you apart from your competition?

5. Be persistent – ASK FOR THE SALE. Follow-up, don’t assume they are not interested, offer what you can do to help them to make a decisions. (Is there something you are questioning, what is keeping you from making a decision, are you ready to move to the next step, how can I help in the decision making process?)

6. Have a set schedule of meeting blocks. Know when you met with people so you can easily set follow-up appointments. When you wrap up your sales call, you should be able to set a follow-up appointment. We are all busy, if you don’t do this it can take weeks and months to secure another meeting, meanwhile you might lose the prospect to another faster salesperson. When are your blocks?

7. 1/3 prospecting; 1/3 sales; 1/3 production. Know the key parts of your sales cycle and spend proportionate time in each quadrant. Often sales people are in the sales part and balls get dropped at the front and end of the cycle. If you are intentional about time in each, you will round out your day, improve the quality of your WHOLE sale cycle not just the actual sell. What are you 3 main parts? Are you spending time in each?

8. Write down all promises and commitments in calendar. Block time for yourself. Write promises down that you make. Have time to follow-up. You have lots you are thinking about. Your word is important; don’t really on your memory to ensure you make it happen. What time do you need to block for you?

9. Have balance (honor nights and weekends with family). Again different jobs are different, but have time for you and time for work. The 24/7 person looks like a super star out of the gate, but it is hard to maintain the pace. Think about the long distance runner who sprints from the finish line, in order for you to maintain performance you must balance work and life. Your life allows you to work, so take care of it (health, family, energy, rejuvenation time, etc.) What time do you reserve for yourself/life?

10. Build a network / support team. Design strategic alliances and build your support team. Even if you work alone, there are relationships you can find where you “help each other out”. These are priceless. Who is your support team?

 Consider the points and the questions. Pick ones that will support you in being strategic with sales. All the best!

This is a great book that can be read in one sitting and then re-read over the course of 8 days or 8 weeks. Phenomenal MUST read. It includes 8 easy to digest mentoring sessions that one of the authors, David Cottrell, had sitting at the feet of a business master. Each chapter/session includes great reminders for every business person to remember and integrate into how they work personally and with others. Whether through work, volunteerism, family or elsewhere, these timeless tips are motivational and applicable for every person. He talks about many things we have shared before and also has some new tips. In the sessions on time management, one key statement I found motivational and true was from p. 63: “I’ve never found anyone who had two or three hours a day they could save by doing one thing better. But, I have seen many people find an hour or two a day they could use better by doing a few things differently.” If you want to make better use of your time, you need to be looking for the small increments of time… a minute here, five minutes there, etc. Add them all up and you’ll create more time for you to use.” There is much more. Get the book for your library!

An independent business owner (IBO) often thinks he has to “do it all.” For example he may say, ”I am my business, who else can help with this?” But you can outsource just about anything, for a price. Many IBO’s may be willing to outsource for technical things such as web development, printing, etc., but try to fight through other everyday aspects of their business like marketing, selling, development, administration and accounting, etc.

You cannot be good at everything! Even if you work in a specialized field, there are probably things you are not so good at and that cause you to waste a lot of time. Consider how you can partner with people around you to create win-win situations.

For example, the networking organization BNI (www.bni.com) is structured as a sales team for each member of the group. You sell for the other people and they sell for you. It is a great way to expand your sales efforts up to 40 fold, in just a few hours a week.

Action:

Consider what is on your plate.

Rate on a scale from 1-5 what you are great at vs. what you don’t like and takes you a lot of time.

Brainstorm on how you could collaborate with someone else to get this done. This is thinking outside of “buying” assistance, so consider how to create win-win partnerships.

Your perspective on scarcity or prosperity is very important because:

It impacts how you see the world. As explained above, each side promotes either positive or negative thinking. People are naturally more negatively wired (They are. There is some statistic about 75% of all adult conversations are naturally negative – just listen the next time you are out.) Positive people live longer, are less stressed and enjoy life more. So, if you desire less stress and a long and enjoyable life, start thinking through the eyes of prosperity.

It impacts what you receive. Some are skeptical about this, but it is the law of nature. When you live in scarcity and cling onto everything, afraid of loss, you get little and things seem to run out. You attract scarcity. It is uncanny how this works, but it really happens. People get attached and cling to money, time, possessions, and for whatever reason, it is not something that can be held on to. The harder you fight for YOURS and cling to it, the quicker it dissipates.

On the other hand, when you live in and give from prosperity, it is incredible what comes into your life. I choose to see it as blessings from God. It is amazing. When you let go of your agenda and serve others, you are served. When you stop worrying about money and become responsible yet generous, you have plenty. When you volunteer freely of your time and energy you are uplifted and blessed. There are many old adages about this: “Givers Gain”, the Golden Rule, etc. When you can stop and look at what is good, what is right and allow yourself to live in the blessings you have been given, appreciate them and give back, the process continues to flow. When you get caught in fear, negativity and pessimism, life gets tough, fast.

Once you are in the scarcity mode, it can be a challenge to get out. You can get out, though. You just need to be intentional about listening to the tape that is running in your head. Listen to yourself talk and hear what you are saying. Are you saying CAN’T, WON’T, NEVER, ALWAYS, DON’T, etc.? These are signs you are looking at life from scarcity. Stop and ask yourself, “What CAN I do?” “What is true?” “What is possible?” Then do what you can. If you continue to always do what you can, you will start to embrace prosperity thinking and living.

Don’t believe me? Try it. It is amazing

Scarcity and Prosperity are two terms I had not heard of until I entered the coaching world. At first I felt they were worldly concepts of the common pursuit of wealth and possessions… connected with the overused term: Abundance. I soon learned about the truth found in these concepts and see the huge impact our perspectives of them have on everything.

First of all, Scarcity vs. Prosperity is talking about your perspective on the world. Scarcity focuses on what you don’t have and cannot do. It is negative and dwells on how you are limited, held back or unable to move forward as you would like.  It shows up like this:

• Business owner: I can’t do any mailings because it costs to much.
• Mom: I can’t get out of the house because there is no one to watch the kids.
• Unhappy professional: I can’t change jobs because I need the stable income.
• Executive: I can’t hire more people; sales are down.

Prosperity is the flip side of scarcity. It is looking at what you DO have. It is positive, up-beat and solution focused. It finds what IS good and what IS possible. It asks “What CAN I do?” I might sound like this:

• Business owner: Mailings are expensive, but I have a small list of 100 names from the Chamber that I CAN do a series of target mailings for and test their effectiveness.
• Mom: I can get out of the house and take the kids to the park. My spouse is home Friday nights and I can plan to do errands then.
• Unhappy professional: I need stable income and CAN take a few classes to explore other interests while working my current job.
• Executive: Sales are down, but I CAN hire short term contract help to pull through this slump. I can also come and work on the floor 5 hours a week to support the team. 

Have you ever noticed what a leech we can be when we are feeling in the pit? When our self-confidence is low, we often look to others for affirmation, strength and building up. We all experience highs and lows through what we are doing and even the best of the best have low days when their confidence wavers. The question of impact and how successful we will be depends on how we handle these lows. Often people fall in the trap of needing to get the boost from others around us. When others are too busy, don’t get it or worse, say something insensitive or critical; we can get even more discouraged.

Here is the trick. Shift your mindset to a bigger picture. In the book The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, the first line is, “It’s not about you.” When we are focused on ourselves we are limited to what is inside us. The point in Warren’s book is we are here on earth for God’s purpose, a GREATER purpose than ourselves. As we think about others, serving others and living for the purpose in which we were born, there is a much greater fulfillment than when we are simply focused on ourselves. The result is we have an expanded perspective and a great richness for life, people and the opportunities of each day. This then becomes a motivator… ‘I AM HERE for a reason and I better get to work! I have no reason to feel negative or bad about myself! THE PRESENT IS PERFECT! I am going to live for what I have been called to do!’ When we focus on that and use our gifts and talents to serve others our energy shifts and our slumps disappear.

2.  Set filters for each of your Essential Eight areas. You want to list your Essential Eight in order of priority, and set a filter for each (take the purpose/goal for each area and then be clear on what fits and what does not). Take special note of the proportion each area is getting. If priority one is family, two is work, three is health, and you have committed 100% to work, with no time allotted for family or for personal care, several negative things will happen. Your health will suffer, which will then jeopardize your physical ability to complete your work. Your family will also interrupt and demand superhuman feats for you to squeeze their needs onto your already full plate. These filters will help you discern to what things you need to say “No” to in order to maintain balance.

3.  Evaluate what is on your plate. Considering each of the Essential Eight areas and your priorities, determine what your needs are. Do you need it or not? Consider your balance so you have some big projects (meat), some personal care (veggies), some daily necessities (good grain/fillers), and a hobby/fun thing (dessert). These are the things to which you are saying “Yes!”

4.  Say “No” to the things that do not meet your filters. These may be the least important things on your list, or new things that come up in your life. Remember that whenever you say “Yes” to something you are saying “No” to something else. If you say “Yes” to a weekend project at work, you are saying “No” to your family time that weekend (You may not have to specifically tell your family “No” but that will be the result). If you say “Yes” to volunteer at the evening carnival, you are saying “No” to your workout, which could result in your being more tired and lethargic, and therefore less productive the next day.

When you say “No” you have more power to say “Yes” to what is important. Remember that “No” can mean “Never,” but it can also mean, “No, not right now.” Let yourself have some space to do what is important. You will experience the power of balance and boundaries, which will result in you being more effective and productive. You will enjoy less stress and more peace with your life.

We are in a season in which activities and demands are picking up. There are more schedules to manage and more pulls on our time. In general, we want to be helpful and accommodating to people. As a result, we hate to say “No.” People often do anything to avoid this word: We will avoid people, redirect conversations, make excuses, be non-committal, or simply say “Yes” to things we know we will have a hard time following through on. The reality of the situation is that we simply cannot do everything. When we keep saying “Yes” to things, we are adding on more stuff to our plate, which causes stress, frustration, and an overwhelmed feeling. Even though we would like to answer “Yes” to everything, in order to have a peaceful life that contains quality, balance and basic sanity; we must learn how to say “No.”

How do you do it? When you say “Yes” to a new activity, you have to say “No” to remove something else that is already on your full plate. Here is how:

1. Be clear on your priorities and what is important. If you are not clear, you will not have a compelling reason to say “No” when you feel drawn to accept a new item on your plate. Try to strike a balance with the Essential Eight: family, friends, work, health, budgeting, fun, physical space (home, office, car), and personal growth (spiritual, educational, personal development). For example, for family, you could commit to spending five hours a day taking care of your family and making sure their needs are met, and for work you could commit to spending eight hours a day working on projects that produce an income of $5000/month in order to provide for your family.

As you do the things I have talked about: harness your energy, budget your time, say no, get a hobby, etc. you will begin to see a shift in how much time you have. We cannot make more time, only use what we have most efficiently and effectively. You cannot be on all the time, so planning for breaks and scheduling for a maximum of 12 hours of “things” a day is key.

When you know what you want to do and are clear on how to get there, you have ½ the battle won. The only part that is left is the momentum to get into action and then accomplishing what has been laid out. This is where some people procrastinate. There are 100’s of ways people do this, from straightening, playing computer games, talking, distracting themselves, etc.

The best way to get into motion is just to start.

Action:

1. Make your to do list the night before, so your mind can subconsciously process it all night.
2. Eat your frog first (the most important thing you have to do; do it before anything else).
3. Notice when you start procrastinating; write the “strategy” you used on a procrastination list that you have pinned up in a noticeable spot. (naming your tactics will help you stop them quicker)
4. Make a game. Determine either a reward or a punishment if you get X task done in X amount of time.
5. Make yourself accountable. Let someone else know what you will get done by when, and send it to them, work on it the same time as them, etc.