If you want to excel in the sales game, you only have to follow three simple steps. If you're already at the top of your game, following these steps will take you to higher levels of success. Even if you're at the other end of the success spectrum, in a slump perhaps and ready to throw in the towel, following these three steps will get you out of your slump and on your way to success...guaranteed!
So, what are these three magical steps?
- Learn something from every selling experience.
- Apply what you learn.
- Repeat the process.
Every sales call, regardless of the outcome has the potential to make you better.
If the call was successful - you closed the sale, examine the process from start to finish and look for things you could have done more effectively or more efficiently. Were there any wasted actions? Were there any opportunities you missed? Were there any redundant efforts? No one is perfect. If you had to find one and only one element in the entire selling process to improve, what would it be? If you look closely, I bet you'll find more than one.
If the outcome of the call was less than successful - you didn't close the sale or it took much longer than it should have taken, where did you go off track? Was it off track from the beginning? Did it get bogged down in the middle of the process? Was it something that happened late in the cycle? Identify exactly what, where, and when things started heading south. Was there more than one thing? Examine each and ask yourself, "What could I have done to prevent that from happening?"
You can learn a lesson from every sales call - something you can do more effectively or something you should stop doing. Once you've identified that "something," apply it to your very next selling situation. Then, repeat the process. Continually look for ways to improve and apply that which you find. Even small improvements pay compound interest over time.
There is a saying, "Learn from your mistakes." That's certainly good advice, since mistakes uncorrected are destined to be repeated. You can also learn from your successes. Learning, whether from mistakes or successes, makes you knowledgeable. Applying knowledge makes you skillful. And, working skillfully enables you to excel in sales.
© Sandler Systems, Inc. All rights reserved
You might also be interested in:
