The RC factor

Comfort Zone

The more entrenched habits are the harder they are to change, but change they must if any improvements are to happen. There can be all the best of intentions to make changes but those old excuses will hold everyone back in their comfort zone of old habits. The opportunities to change and improve are available. If it’s all too hard or decisions can’t be made to shake the old habits remember the tools, techniques, information and people are out there waiting to help you to make the change. Refusing to improve will keep the status quo in place and deny the organisation or individual the opportunity to succeed.

Make Choices

The most powerful ability we have as human beings is that of being able to make choices. All the knowledge, information and tools are there for you to address those aspects of your life and business that you want to improve. You only have to make the decision to make a difference and change. Change is opportunity, the more changes there are the more opportunities there will be, and deciding that you will learn to be prepared for change will create for you the opportunities to be on your pathway to success.

Lasting Change

Quite often the motivational quick fix, silver bullet approach is seen as the overall solution to improving performance. This is only successful for the majority in the short term and will need to be repeated if it is to have lasting effect. There is the minority who will literally take on board information and apply what is learned to their daily work. However this is more the exception than the rule. Real lasting change does not happen overnight and this fact should be realised by those looking to make meaningful change. Today too many individuals and organisations with potential are not delivering the results they could be due to the fact the need is not recognised and things are going well. When the situation changes and the pressures of increased competition and lost business happen the status quo is not enough to survive in the new environment. Unless the RC factor is addressed and meaningful change is made adapting to changing markets and improved results will not occur.

“Whenever an individual or a business decides that success has been attained, progress stops”. Thomas J. Watson.

“If Nothing Changes – Nothing Changes”.

The world around us is changing continually and we have no way of effecting events outside our control. What we can control is how we respond to those events as they affect our business. Selling goods and services will always be influenced by one thing or another and it is important to understand all salespeople require making themselves impervious to these events. One way to do this is to be continually reviewing and going over the sales skills that are part of the selling process to make sure your goal of ongoing self-improvement is realised. There are many coaches and mentors available who can take a helicopter view of how you are currently operating and through their experience discover where attention is needed. They will be able to help restart and focus your plans and goals in the direction you wish to go.

The Self Audit

Once the desire for change and improvement in your career is recognised the big step is to actively embark on the journey. However, not knowing where and how to start can be the first obstacle. It is at this stage you may find the going tough. A coach or mentor will identify and build on your strengths and work with you on the weaknesses that need to be improved so that your vision and objectives can be achieved. As previously mentioned coaches and mentors are available to assist in your sales improvement, they are numerous and cover all possible aspects of personal development and selling. Their knowledge and experience will help you target your specific needs and set priorities for self-improvement and improved sales success.

Making Time

One of the traps in any training or self-improvement is the lack of commitment to allocate sufficient time and thought to the task ahead. In all your planning and self-development remember you will need support in all the things you do. Those around you in your private and your work environment are vital to your success and professional coaching or mentoring is invaluable. It is very rare that real changes happen overnight and once you have commenced on your path to a more rewarding career in selling. Outside assistance will be the catalyst to enable you to reach new heights in your sales career.

I read recently a story from the United States where an American Indian was demonstrating his craft of tracking to a group of tourists.  Amazed by the skills and patience shown one of the tourist asked what was the secret to being successful in tracking his quarry? The Indian replied that there were only two things you needed to concentrate on, the near step and the far vision. The response has stayed with me and is one of those quotes that can act as a reminder when looking at how you view what you do in your business.

Operating on Auto Pilot.

In any selling role you are continually subject to many differing events. Occurrences in your day to day work may result in you feeling you are not in full control of your business and personal life. Generally how you operate today is the result of habits developed over the years. In meeting the daily demands as a sales professional and getting through each day you rely on your auto pilot. Over the course of a day you continue with the habits and practices that you feel may have served you well in the past. You fail to see that by the very way you operate it is contributing to your current situation. Selling can be a highly competitive and people oriented business. In addition to understanding the high level of attention to detail required in carrying out your craft, time is yours alone and you are solely responsible for how it is used.

Equal Opportunity Minutes.

The area of your business you do have control over is the use of time and how you will effectively utilise those equal opportunity, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years, (they are the same for us all). The effective use of the time you have to do your work is in direct proportion to your results. It is only through the efficient use of your time that you will maximise your sales results. Understanding the different sales tasks required and their importance is vital if you are to be successful in selling and enjoying the benefits the profession offers. The priorities you make needs to be balanced to ensure that at all times you remain focused on obtaining business now and in the future. Too often salespeople will see any free moments they have available as a reward and can easily get distracted. They take their eyes of the ball and discover that an opportunity has been missed while they were playing golf, shopping or just taking it easy.

Plan to Plan. Vs Hope and Luck.

The first decision you need to make is to actually plan to plan. Discipline is required from the outset if you are going to be serious about your future income, job satisfaction and the enjoyment of life. To move forward in your life and career you need to understand that the near steps are the vital building blocks on which the far vision is possible. It is no use just to spend your time concentrating on the near steps feeling that what you are doing is all you need to do to progress. Relying on hope and luck to get you where you want to be in one year or more from today will not deliver results. Things don’t just happen and any decisions you make on your career requires strategic thinking and a sharing with all those who are stake holders in your life.

“In life you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you believe, plan and expect”.

That Extra Mile

Many of the overheads of a business are set and future increases can be to some extent anticipated and factored into the budget calculations. The same can be said for the sales budget however it is in sales that the boundaries can be pushed out provided the sales team has the potential to increase the level of sales by going that extra mile. New sales targets will be greeted by salespeople in many ways and their response will to a large extent depend on how the individual as performed in the previous twelve months.

New Targets

In most cases from the companies view point the level of sales needed is not up for negotiation and it is left to the salespeople and their Manager to deliver. This leaves us with the question of how to get all the sales team to respond positively to the new targets and feel they can reach them and meet the goals set. Quite often sales incentives and rewards are seen as the best way to achieve the result but these can become counter productive if they are seen to be out of reach to the individual salesperson. Most salespeople are competitive and that drive needs to be nurtured if their best is to be achieved.

Personal Best

All those in sales come from differing backgrounds and their situations vary considerably, for example a single person will not have the restrictions on their time as some one with a family so it is counterproductive to expect they will perform the same. It is therefore critical to have rewards that reflect this difference and it is due to these differences that a plan to use their personal best as a benchmark to encourage performance. This approach, with a minimum level of sales required takes more time and management but in the end will lead to a more stable team with less staff turnover and the associated costs of training.

Results Are Everything

The days are gone of the Sales Manager thumping the table at the sales meeting, under pressure from management, to get the targets set and putting the fear of the sack into the sales staff. Results are everything and a company or organisation will only survive if the sales targets are met but it is the astute Sales Manager who takes the time to understand the dynamics of getting the best from all the sales staff.

There is a saying “a star team operates better than a team of stars”.

In helping to set goals coaching is a method of passing on knowledge and assistance to achieve the goals and develop specific skills to improve performance and satisfaction in the work environment.

Forms of coaching can be through one-on-one sessions or a group and require an ongoing program to ensure time lines and tasks are completed with the aim of satisfying the objectives established.

The coaches role in helping the salesperson is to help them articulate their aspirations, clarify their role, purpose and goals and to help them through to achieving the outcome desired.

In deciding what form of assistance you need it is important to understand the difference between instructing, coaching and mentoring.

Instructing will be required in the process to teach and pass on specific knowledge, coaching deals primarily with skill building and mentoring helps shape the outlook and or attitude of the individual.

One could be confused in deciding what form of help and assistance would be best for them at the current time as there is an overlapping between the several activities.

When deciding on a coach it is best to recognise that it is not something you do  when things have taken a turn for the worst, rather the use of a coach should be seen as a step you take at any time in you career and make it part of your overall self development programme.

The two most common forms of assistance in the field is coaching and mentoring.

It needs to be understood that mentoring is using the experience of the mentor in a relationship where advice and counselling involves the sharing of advice and although a form of sales coaching it is not as structured and formal as coaching.

In coaching, the coach helps by creating and carrying out a structured path to reach the goals established by the individual or organisation.

The important relationship that should exist between the coach and the individual or organisation is one where those being coached have identified their interests, goals and objectives.

Once the process has commenced those being coached are responsible for the tasks, assisted by the coach where necessary, to reach the targets and goals established and agreed to.

Failure to achieve any specific outcome will be the sole responsibility of those being coached.

Today the sales professional needs to be at the top of their game if the wish to have success and a satisfactory lifestyle, coaching is a tool available to all in the selling profession that could well give you the edge you need in securing your future and doing what you do like a true professional.

In just the same way as the very best sports people have their own (or a team) coach, so too should sales professionals.

After all, if Tiger Woods – undeniably the world’s best golfer – has a coach or mentor, then there’s got to be a VERY GOOD reason for it, and that reason is simple:

Results!

A great coach or mentor can help speed up the process of attaining success in any endeavour, and selling is no different to golf or football in that respect.

HOWEVER, it’s vital that if you do decide to engage a coach or mentor, that you choose carefully.

You should look for 3 things in this situation:

1) Someone you have a good connection with… after all, if you dislike or disrespect each other, that’s going to kill any chance of success for all the obvious reasons.

2) Someone who has the real-world experience that you want to emulate. If you’re already a better sales person than them, there’s not much likelyhood they’ll be able to stretch your skills and attitude enough to get better.

and

3) Someone who practises tough love. A coach or mentor who lets you get away with failure all the time is doing no-one a favour. They have to be willing to push you hard, especially when you’re down & feeling negative.

A truly great sales coach will always expect the best from you, but also understands that everyone grows at a different pace. This ensures they identify your strengths and weaknesses, and modify their coaching to take these into account, all while INSISTING on excellence and commitment to achieving your goals.

When one looks at the number of books, CD’s, DVD’s, training organisations and sales programs currently available, one could be forgiven for not knowing where to start and more importantly, what will deliver the specific results you & your TEAM are looking for.

In addition there are many styles of training and support to choose from, sales coach, sales trainer, sales mentor, sales manager and sales adviser plus others.

Individuals and teams have specific requirements and it is important to make sure you spend the time and money on those areas of training you have identified that you need to see improvement in.

One of the reasons I wrote my book “4 Qualities of the Successful Sales Professional” was to help, through the exercises and the self audit process, assist individuals and organisations identify what areas of training need to be attended to first.

It is important with sales training to not attempt too many activities at once as I have seen on many occasions this will result in none of the tasks being started due to the lack of a planned approach.

The need to identify what is to be accomplished is essential when planning a sales training program and knowing what needs to be done will – to a large extent – guide you to the most effective sales program for your career.

There are many sales coaches available but one needs to be sure to understand what is required and not think that a comprehensive package will satisfy your needs. One size does not fit all.

The best advice is only as good as the use you make of it.

For more information on sales coaching or mentoring, take a look at my Dynamic Sales Mentoring programs & options.

Like all professions the ability to progress and improve in all you do is to approach sales training as an on going activity that will ensure you future.

The recognition and understanding of the things to be learnt will only come from continually reviewing what you do with a logical approach and the setting of goals and measurable targets.

A search on Google under sales training will show approximately 119 million results and it is from this one needs to identify which sales training program to adopt.

The development of a good sales person requires a positive ongoing approach to self improvement in attitude, personal and professional development, planning and sales skills.

All the information that is needed is available in many forms in today’s training market and is presented in ways to suit your preferred style of learning.

When one looks at the number of books, CD’s, DVD’s, training organisations and sales programs one could be forgiven not knowing where to start and more importantly what will deliver the specific results you are looking for.

In addition there are many styles of training and support to choose from, sales coach, sales trainer, sales mentor, sales manager and sales adviser plus others.

Individuals have specific requirements and it is important to make sure you spend the time and money on those areas of training you have identified that you need to see improvement.

One of the reasons I wrote my book “4 Qualities of the Successful Sales Professional” was to help, through the exercises and the self audit process, assist individuals and organisations identify what areas of training need to be attended to first.

It is important with sales training not to attempt too many activities at once as I have seen on many occasions this will result in none of the tasks being started due to the lack of a planned approach.

The need to identify what is to be accomplished is essential when planning a sales training program and knowing what needs to be done will to a large extent guide you to the most effective sales program for your career.

There are many sales training programs available but one needs to be sure to understand what is required and not think the a comprehensive package will satisfy your needs, one size does not fit all.

The best advice is only as good as the use you make of it.

For more information on choosing the right balance and style of sales training, take a look at my book: “4 Qualities of the Successful Sales Professional”