THE SALES FORCE PLAYBOOK

TIME OUT

As I was driving the other day, I saw a sight that just perplexed me. A women was out for her run that day, but was having a conversation on her cell phone, while she was running!

Now I can understand if a person needed to "carry" their cell phone while running in case of an emergency.  But this women obviously was not in the middle of a crisis or an emergency.  Can't she just take time out for a run before she deals with other things in her life?

Salespeople are guilty of the same type of behavior.  They do not take time out to plan for future success. They try to plan at the same time they are in the middle of other projects.  Unfortunately, that lack of focus leads to poor planning and many times, poor results.

It is critical that you take time out for planning.  As you do your annual planning, make sure you get out of the office to a place that you will not be interrupted and where you can have creative thoughts. Put together those life/work plans that will result in your greatest year ever.

Make sure you take at least a half-day every quarter to review your progress and make plans and commitments for the next 90 days. Depending on the velocity of your business, you may need to set aside time to do the same thing on a monthly basis.

Every week you need to set aside time to look back at your prior week for the things you accomplished and the things you did not accomplish. Then take a look at the upcoming week to make sure you are laser-beemed focus on your success.  Make sure you are focusing on the "big rocks" and also make sure you schedule time in your calendar for prospecting.

Take time out to work on your business, not just in your business!

COLD CALLING

A salesperson I coach was hired to come in and make cold calls to create appointments for other salespeople in his company (and learn the business along the way).  He has great desire and commitment and pounded the phones for 12 months.  After a year, both parties were frustrated with the progress. Could there be a better way?

This particular salesperson decided to get out of the cold calling business and grow his business through referrals and introductions. While his client base was not huge, he had developed Centers of Influence (COIs) and was fairly well connected in his personal life. He developed his R.A.P. (Referral Action Plan) and began a new way of prospecting.

The results?  He is writing more business than ever before and his pipeline is full of qualified opportunities. When he was cold calling, all he had was a pipe dream.

Prospecting is challenging, no matter what your method.  But few would argue that your R.A.P. will produce far greater results than your "rap" while making cold calls.

Check out Jeffrey Gitomer's rant on cold calling.

CREATING ADVOCATES

Creating Advocates:    I was recently talking to a salesperson and she told me the story of how one of her current clients met her at an association event and proceeded to personally introduce her to 6 potential prospects.  One of the prospects later commented, "Wow, I never seen a better advertisement for a salesperson than the one he gave you.  He told me all the reasons he chose you, how you are taking great care of him and why I should do business with you."  This was a great example of how advocates can help you build and grow your business. Now unless you are uber-connected like Keith Ferrazzi, most salespeople have a limited number of advocates.  The good news is that if you have the right advocates, a few could lead you to incredible riches.  Consider this, if you could choose your advocates, who would they be?  They might be current clients, Centers of Influence (COIs) or somebody you hardly know (or do not know at all).  What would be the results if these people really became your advocates?  Are you willing to do Whatever it Takes to developing a deep and meaningful relationship with them?  It will not happen overnight.  It will take planning and hard work.  In a future blog I will give you some ideas how you can make this a reality.

Book Recommendation:    Zappos is one of the truly amazing stories in American business.  Tony Hsieh took the idea of selling shoes on-line to create a fabulous company that he recently sold to Amazon.com for $1.2 Billion dollars.  Hsieh's book, Delivering Happiness, A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose is full of great ideas on how to engage and energize yourself, your team and your company. 

Great Article:   I would recommend that you read this article from the most recent edition of American Agent and Broker.  Producers:  Plan or Perish is a great reminder of how important it is for salespeople to make time for planning for their success.  Salespeople need this time to work on their business, instead of always working in their business.  Although this magazine focuses on the insurance industry, every salesperson, regardless of their industry, will pick up a nugget or two from this article.  I especially like Jack Burke's idea of using a list when asking for referrals. company.

Check Out This Blog:    Bill Cates is known as The Referral Coach.  He has fantastic  ideas to help make referrals and introductions part of your DNA.  I would recommend that you sign up for his weekly newsletter.  The newsletter a great reminder of ways to build and grow your business through referrals. 

Quote:    "When I hear somebody sigh, 'Life is hard,' I am always tempted to ask, 'Compared to what?'"

                                                    Sydney J. Harris