Business LockerRoom Blog

The Leading Indicator of Sales Failure

by Kelly Riggs

It seems that the most common complaint I hear from veteran salespeople is, “I don’t have enough time.”

Inevitably, what that typically means is that salespeople are so busy fighting fires that they don’t make time to do the really important things that would actually produce more sales – things like prospecting, networking, improving critical selling skills, setting goals, and creating strategic sales plans.

If there is one comment or habit that is an indicator of future sales failure or mediocrity, this is it: “I don’t have time.” Learning is the preventative maintenance of the selling profession. It is the only predictable remedy for falling revenue and compensation erosion.

But, more often than not, entire years slip by with little, if any, progress or development in the areas that truly impact sales revenue. Instead, salespeople get bogged down in busy work, administrative details, and fighting fires.

They are guilty of simply giving away the most precious asset they have – their time.

How to Cut Down More Trees

If you want a a different sales result next year, the answer is to dramatically change the way you invest your time.

I saw the old story below in an article recently. It’s been around for quite a while, so you’ve likely seen it, but it should be revisited fairly often:

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.”

Pretty obvious lesson. Improve your skills or prepare to watch your sales performance erode.

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 immediately to Amazon and purchase one or more of the following books (just click on the title to go directly to a purchase page):

The Science of Selling (by David Hoffeld)

The Perfect Close (by James Muir)

Beyond the Sales Process (by Dave Stein and Steve Andersen)

New Sales. Simplified. (by Mike Weinberg)

The Sales Acceleration Formula (by Mark Roberge)

High-Profit Prospecting (by Mark Hunter)

Now, get busy studying. These are freaking great books!! You cannot help but improve your skills using one or more them as a guide. Why would you settle for average or become a sales failure with this kind of material readily available??

Oh, while you’re at it, perhaps you could subscribe to the author’s newsletter and read their blog posts each week.

Just a thought.

2. Find a sales mentor – immediately.

The benefits of a coach are enormous, and my experience is that most successful salespeople love to share their success ideas so it shouldn’t be too difficult to find someone that will help.

By the way, it doesn’t matter if this person is inside or outside your company or industry. You just want to surround yourself with talented people who can provide ideas – and accountability. You could even find mentorship online, via courses found in Sandler and similar professional training platforms. What matters is finding someone who is willing to teach you the latest tactics and strategies used in the sales field.

Once you find someone you can learn from, offer to buy this person breakfast (or lunch, coffee, or whatever) once a month so you can talk about selling. And make sure you bring a notebook or iPad or something to take notes. There is nothing more worthless than to have a conversation full of ideas and forget half of them because you were too lazy or absentminded to take notes.

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, but do something!

Don’t ask for anything, just contribute as much as possible and get to know as many people as you can. Your objective is to build strong relationships with key people and develop a relationship for being a contributor.

By the way, speaking at these events is the very BEST way to become visible. You may need help creating an effective keynote presentation that brings value to the organization. Get the help. You don’t want to SELL from the podium – that’s a bad plan.

4. SCHEDULE TIME each and every week to prospect.

That’s right. Every single week.

Put it on your calendar just like an appointment, or 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! Ask someone to hold you accountable, or to join you in the process, if that will help.

Start by creating a MASTER LIST of prospects. Spend time learning about those prospects. Use LinkedIn, 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, preferably through a direct referral. A successful salesman always takes time to carry out prospecting marketing.

For more help and great ideas, read Mark Hunter’s book, “High Profit Prospecting.”

5. You need to practice presenting your product/service.

I’ve saved the best idea, and the toughest, for last. But the best athletes in the world practice daily, so 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 communicate value, 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 (go ahead, I dare you…when he wakes up, tell him/her you aren’t kidding).

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?

There is, however, one bright spot that comes out of your failure to invest time in improving your skills. You do leave a whole lot of trees in the forest for someone else to cut down.

P.S. For customized, high-impact sales coaching, contact me.