90% VERSUS 10%

90% VERSUS 10%… are you in the 90% or are you in the 10%?… Read this Tip right to the end and find out: Recently one of my Coaching Clients (Andrew) asked me a very interesting question…“Bruce, what are the four or five Basic Elements of Sales? What are the top few items that I would have to master to become highly proficient as a Salesperson?”

I pondered his query for a few moments and then shared my conclusions:

“Andrew, there are not four or five Basic Elements in Sales. There are only 3… CONSISTENCY – SKILLS – SYSTEMS”.

That’s all, only three. Let’s look at them a little more closely:

1. CONSISTENCY is doing the things you need to do on an ongoing basis day after day after day.

— Starting work at the same time with the same attitude, with the same energy level and always looking for business

2. SKILLS is communicating effectively with different Customers in different ways.

— Prequalifying, asking questions, objection handling, making presentations, closing, and asking for referrals

3. SYSTEMS is having a series of repeatable processes in place to ensure optimum efficiency.

— Lead generation, lead follow-up, advertising and marketing, money management, building your skills

The hard part is not identifying these three items, the difficulty comes in mastering what it takes to become Consistent, Skillful, and Systematized. This is where the 90% versus 10% shows up. This is how the best Salespeople (10%) separate themselves from the competition (90%).

Here is your ACTION STEP… the four steps to success using the 3 basics:

1. Initially you must make sure that you are Motivated on a personal level. Do you have clear Personal Goals? That is essential. Also, are they written down? Personal motivation is what is needed to help you through the tough times, the times when things don’t go as smoothly as you had hoped. You draw on this motivation to ensure that on an ongoing basis (Consistency) you do the right things (Skills) in a repeatable fashion (Systems).

2. Consistency… starts with doing the same things every day. The simplest approach is to have a Daily Schedule. Every time you find yourself fighting this approach, you are eroding your consistency. The simplest daily schedule starts with this mantra… “the mornings are for lead generation and the afternoons are for lead servicing”. Consistent Salespeople find a way to make this work and inconsistent Salespeople find excuses to justify why this doesn’t work. It is a choice that the Superstars always make correctly. 90% or 10%?

3. Skills…is a never-ending journey. You never “get there”. By definition, once you stop learning then you start regressing. The key is to be consistent in your skills enhancement. It needs to be part of the daily schedule referenced in point #2 above. Role-playing, practicing your presentation, and developing new material are all parts of this necessary growth. Also, you have to make sure you “keep your ego in check”. That way you will avoid ever thinking that you have nothing more to learn. 90% or 10%?

4. Systems…are what allows you to continually increase your production without increasing the number of hours you work. Systems provide the predictability and the ease of expansion that are so necessary if you are to grow your business and take it to new heights. Every time a new requirement arrives on the horizon, you just plug in your existing system and the big jobs become little jobs. This way you become no different than any large corporation. This way you can adapt to change much more quickly. 90% or 10%?

The irony of looking at the three main basics (C + S + S) is that even though Sales really is this simple and straightforward, only a very few Salespeople do not fall into the trap of cutting corners! The most successful Salespeople understand that there is no shortcut when it comes down to the Basic Elements of Sales. 90% of all Salespeople take the easy road, 10% of all salespeople take the simple road. The “easy road” does not pay nearly as well as the “simple road”. Which highway are you on? Make sure your GPS has you on the 10% road. NO Excuses