In an election year, the concept of a promise takes on odd meaning.
What can we believe…. What can we not…..
Sadly, these promises cannot be counted on, certainly not as a guarantee. Leaving us to wonder:
When will the day come that we can believe a guarantee?
Great news for you: That day has come. Today. Right now.
As a result of our work with dozens of companies, hundreds of sales leaders and thousands of sales reps; we have distilled these 10 Commandments of Success which, if followed, WILL increase your sales. I personally guarantee it.
The 10 Commandments of Success:
1. Simplify:
Many reps make the path to success overly complex. Today, I spent hours reviewing opportunities where reps over-engineered simple concepts and put an undue burden on their prospects for actions that the rep should be completing. Keep simplifying the task until it’s in its simplest, most elemental state. Put as little burden on your prospect as possible.
‘Make it as simple as possible but no simpler.’ Albert Einstein
2. Commit:
Too many reps ‘kinda’ want to do a deal but in reality, they aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to win. Instead, they partially commit to many opportunities, weakly pursuing them and winning very little. If it isn’t worth winning, don’t bother. If it is, be willing to do whatever it takes.
Want to delve deeper? I recommend this book: The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Whatever You Want by Mike Hernacki.
3. Plan:
How many times have you gone to a meeting where you are the star and yet you didn’t have a clear map for these 3 basic elements: 1) your goals for the meeting, 2) the prospects goals for the meeting and 3) your expected next steps? Without at least a basic plan, you are slowing down your path to success and wasting everyone’s time.
‘Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.’ Sun Tzu.
4. Move:
Ok. Planning is great but Action is greater. When in doubt, friggin’ DO something. Make a call, do some research, edit a proposal. Many times even the wrong action is more powerful than doing nothing correctly.
‘Have a Bias for Action’ , learn more in Tom Peters’ book In Search of Excellence.
5. Listen:
<shock> Your clients really don’t give a rip what you have to say until they KNOW you have listened to them from your core. No, not listened to ‘respond’. Truly listened to understand and echo back to them what you heard. Listening creates intimacy and trust. You MUST have these to do meaningful deals.
‘Seek to Understand before you seek to be Understood’. Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
6. Focus:
‘Value’ is the only currency today. If you aren’t trading in that, you are in the commodities market. Value aligned to a prospect’s known (or unknown) Business Pain is the only way to do meaningful business.
‘Focus on what is Vital and ignore what is Trivial’ . Greg McKeown, Essentialism.
7. Be Brave:
So many reps that I coach admit with embarrassment that they are afraid in their sales cycles. Awesome! Sometimes it IS a bit scary. BUT…. We must pursue anyway. It is OK to be afraid. What is not OK is to have that fear paralyze you. Please read Feel the Fear…. and do it Anyway by Dr. Susan Jeffers. It will liberate you.
8. Be Honest, with YOURSELF:
Often times, we don’t like what we know or suspect. So we do the smart thing: IGNORE it. That solves nothing and only prevents us from being successful. Reps that embrace whatever the truth is and build a realistic plan to deal with it: WIN. Reps that don’t: LOSE. It’s THAT simple. Save yourself the heartache and Run to the Truth™
9. Persevere:
Starting is easy. Buzzy, fun, exciting…. And then it gets hard. It doesn’t go well. Sh*t hits the fan. We get discouraged. Here is what I know: At some point, the big deals that I have been involved with were really ugly, beaten up or even dead but, because we chose to fight on and endure, we were able to cross the finish line victorious.
‘Have the Courage to Endure.’ Ruben Gonzalez, The Courage to Succeed.
10. Be different:
We frequently feel we have to do something crazy when, in the end, our prospects simply want to count on what we say we’re going to do. I saved this one for last as it’s been the biggest success maker for me and our clients at Span the Chasm. Simply follow Larry Winget’s #1 Rule of Business (and relationships) from his book, The Idiot Factor:
- Do what you said you were going to do
- The way that you said you were going to do it
- When you said you were going to get it done.
BOOM! (mic drop)
You might have noticed a lot of books referenced in this post. Here is a bonus: Read.
Find a partner and hold each other accountable to reading a book per month for a year. It’s an important factor in your own personal development.
I have worked this concept with many reps to date and have never heard negative feedback. Your personal success matters to us at Span the Chasm. Try these out, let us know what you think! I guarantee you’ll see results, if you stick to it and COMMIT.
BONUS!
You may have noticed I used a lot of quotes in this blog. Quotes are powerful teachers and provide daily inspiration for me. We gather wisdom and new insights through quotes. I’ve assembled my favorite 10 success quotes in a handy PDF.
Click here to download and place it on your desk for daily inspiration!
