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Will Your Sales Surge With The Economy?

By Will Turner

According to recent reports from Washington , 2004 is shaping up to produce the strongest economic growth in two decades. Are you and the rest of your sales team ready?

To take advantage of the advancing economic surge, there are a number of things you should be doing right now. Here are ten things you can do to make 2004 your best year ever. 

Sharpen your focus. Being all things to all people is not the way to go. Instead, focus your attention and energy on what you do best with the people that will value you the most. If you’re not sure what or who that is, examine your current book of business to determine where you make the most money, have the fewest problems and get the most enjoyment. It shouldn’t be too hard to determine where your focus should be.

Increase your visibility. To get more business, you have to raise your profile in your market of choice (see #1 above). There are lots of ways to do this. Two methods that will have a tremendous impact on your sales are speaking and writing. By becoming an expert in your field, you can gain tremendous visibility by speaking at industry conferences, meetings and events. Writing a monthly newsletter, contributing to industry publications or simply writing an e-tip of the week for your clients and prospects will get you favorable awareness.

Develop a prospecting system. Most salespeople operate on a “wing and a prayer.” They do a little of this and a little of that with no clear plan. When it comes to prospecting, that approach will put you on a path to disaster. Prospecting is the lifeblood of your sales, so don’t leave it to chance. Instead break down your annual sales goal into step-by-step daily action items to stay on track. That exercise should include determining how many prospects you need to contact and how you will replenish your list of prospects throughout the year.

Be accountable. Don’t cheat yourself. Do what you need to do and hold yourself accountable. Be accountable to others as well. Your success is determined, in part, by your willingness to do what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. Be a person of your word and you’ll stand out.

Remove sales pressure. Are prospects attracted to you? Do you have prospects ask you to do business with them? If that’s not happening, the culprit may be good old-fashioned sales pressure. Take pressure out of the sales equation by creating relationships with prospects where your goal is to get to the truth rather than to make the sale. This will not only take pressure off of your prospect, but it will also take pressure off of you to close the deal. The result will be stronger and healthier relationships that will actually yield more sales.

Add value. Always ask yourself, “What can I do to help my prospect or client?” By always adding value and being a resource to others, you’ll create value that far outweighs your fee. If you become a value-enhancer, you will be sought out by others and you will eliminate your competition.

Get a mentor or coach. You can do it alone or you can get help. Take a lesson from great athletes like Tiger Woods who wouldn’t dream of going it alone. Like other highly successful people, Tiger understands that even with talent and drive, there is always room for improvement. So find someone that will help you. It doesn’t have to be a paid arrangement. You could have a buddy, colleague or boss that can work with you. Just make sure that you partner with someone who is committed to your success and who has the insight and ability to truly assist you.

Take inventory. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Can you look in the mirror and see the real picture, warts and all? Get others to give you feedback on what you do well and not so well. Assessments can also provide eye-opening feedback. Once you’ve completed a thorough and honest evaluation, use the information to improve. Figure out what you can change, add or eliminate that will have the biggest impact on your sales in the coming year.

Enhance skills. Armed with your inventory of strengths and weaknesses, it’s time to develop your skills where they are most needed. Skills are developed by doing. In other words, practice makes perfect. This is one area where role playing with a coach or mentor can help. If that’s not an option, just get out there and go for it. Learn from your mistakes by evaluating your performance.

Be disciplined. It all comes down to making an unbreakable commitment to yourself and not letting any excuses derail you. You have to do the things that you need to do to create the life you want to have. That means doing things even when you don’t feel like it. Discipline is realizing that all of your actions have consequences and rewards. It’s also understanding that you must consider both the short and long-term impact of your actions. While shooting the breeze with a coworker for an hour on last night’s game may be fun, it’s not going to get you where you need to be.

© Dancing Elephants Achievement Group 2003