The single most common complaint heard from salespeople is, “I don’t have enough time.” Well, except for the one about not closing enough sales. Or the one about the economy being so bad. OK, so maybe it’s the third most common complaint…
But, truth be told, salespeople are typically so busy fighting fires that they don’t make time to do the really important things that would actually produce more sales: prospecting, networking, training, improving critical selling skills, setting goals, and creating strategic sales plans.
In what universe does this make any sense? Every profession I can think of – medicine, law, accounting, engineering, etc. – is required to 1) get a degree, a certification, and a license, and 2) acquire a specific number of CEUs (continuing education units) each year in order to maintain good standing in the profession. Not only do salespeople require no professional training or certification, they typically don’t take the time to acquire or improve the skills that would allow them to make more money.
More often than not, entire days slip away with little, if any, progress or development in the areas that truly impact sales revenue. Instead, salespeople get bogged down in busy work, paper work, and fixing problems, and waste away the one precious commodity they have – their time.
How Sharp is Your Axe?
I saw the story below in another article recently. It’s been around for quite a while, and it reminded me of the importance of professional development:
Once upon a time, a very strong woodsman applied for a job with a logging company, and he got it. He was determined to do his very best work because he desperately wanted to keep the job – the pay was excellent and it was a very good company to work for. The first day on the job, his boss supplied him with a brand new axe and showed him the area where he was to work.
The first day the woodsman cut down 18 trees, and the boss was very pleased. Motivated by the praise he received for his good work the woodsman tried harder the next day, but he only managed to cut down 16 trees. On the third
day he worked even harder, but only cut down 14 trees. And so it went; day after day his production slipped.
The woodsman thought perhaps he was losing his strength. A week after starting his new job, the boss called the woodsman into his office and asked him how things were going. The woodsman apologized and said that he couldn’t understand what was happening – he simply could not meet his goals. “Let me ask you a question,” the boss said. “When was the last time you sharpened your axe?”
“Sharpen my axe?” the woodsman replied. “I don’t have time for that. I’m too busy cutting down trees.”
Ouch. The point should be pretty clear: you can sharpen your axe, or you can pay the price. Seriously, how can a salesperson expect to prosper when he or she is unwilling to invest in the very activities and/or education that will produce that prosperity?
5 Tips for Cutting Down More Trees
The good news is that it doesn’t take a monumental investment of time to make some serious progress towards a sharper axe. What it does take, however, is a plan. Since that is one of the things you typically don’t have time for, I’m going to offer one up for you:
1) Go to your local bookstore and locate the Business section and look for books on selling. In most cases, there will be thirty or forty titles to choose from. Here are some suggestions: Conceptual Selling (Miller/Heimann), The Sales Bible (Gitomer), You’ll Never Get No for an Answer (Carew), SPIN Selling (Rackham). Look at them all, and then buy one or more books. During the week, use any free lunch time (when you aren’t having lunch with a prospect or customer) to read AND take notes. Use a notebook and write down key points. As you read, you will come up with several new ideas – write them all down. Then, go use those ideas in your daily work activities.
2) Find a sales mentor – inside or outside your company or industry. Offer to buy him or her breakfast (lunch, coffee, whatever) once a month so you can talk about selling. Most successful salespeople love to share their success ideas so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find someone that will help. Bring a notebook and a list of questions to each meeting.
3) Identify and join one association or group where your potential prospects are members – a trade organization, an industry conference, a community or civic club. As soon as you join, ask how you can contribute – join a subcommittee, volunteer for an activity, chair an event – do something. Don’t ask for anything, just contribute as much as possible and get to know as many people as you can.
4) Schedule 2-4 hours each and every week to prospect. Every single week. And put it on your calendar just like an appointment, otherwise you won’t do it. You will make every excuse in the world not to do it. You will find a thousand things to do other than prospect for new customers, so put it on the calendar and make it stick!
Create a Master List of prospects – in fact, put it in the same notebook you are using for your reading notes. Spend time learning about those prospects – use Google, check out their websites, find out everything you can. Search for possible network contacts that could introduce you or, at the least, provide additional information about the prospect’s business. Then, use your research and contact information to create an opportunity to introduce yourself.
5) I’ve saved the best – and the toughest – for last. You need to practice presenting your product/service. The best athletes in the world practice daily; why shouldn’t you practice once in a while? Unfortunately, salespeople get into some really bad habits in making presentations – they cut corners, talk way too much, don’t ask good questions, don’t sell benefits, fail to demonstrate the ROI of their product/service, and so forth. They talk at the customer; not to the customer. In many cases, salespeople even fail to become experts in their own products, much less the industries they represent. To get better in a hurry, ask your sales manager to listen to your presentation. [Maybe 1 out of 100 salespeople have the courage to do this!]
If you find yourself blaming something else – the economy, your territory, your pricing, your marketing, or whatever – for your lack of success, take a minute and examine your axe. You simply cannot be successful with a dull blade.
There is, however, some good that comes out of your failure to make time to improve. You do leave a whole lot of trees in the forest for someone else…
