For the last 20ish years, I have heard countless complaints about the business-to-business selling environment. Stuff like: “No one cares about relationships anymore,” or “It is all about price,” and “Customers do their own research and ignore us,” – the list goes on.
While I blame most complaints like this on older people having euphoric recall about the “good old days” and looking at the same scenario from a different perspective, I do believe that the environment has truly changed. That said, the negative outcomes like those I cited do not have to be true.
Today’s selling environment demands competent salespeople, mitigates dishonest claims, and requires skill before relationships can be forged – unlike years ago, when aggressive, ignorant, and slimy salespeople would win sales opportunities, leaving the customer holding the bag and leaving smart, ethical salespeople looking for different careers.
No matter what you may hear, I believe it has never been easier to be great at sales. While others complain, implement these seven ideas and watch your performance skyrocket:
1. Become a student.
Every day for the rest of your career, competence will be more important to your success. To be great, you must become a student and be perceived by your marketplace as the subject matter expert (SME). Customers build relationships with SMEs. Customers pay more for SMEs. Customers engage with SMEs. Everyone else is simply a price.
2. Prepare.
Before every phone call, presentation, and cold call, you must prepare. Salespeople inherently wing it – and in today’s world of distractions and task-switching, the art of winging it has become the norm. Preparing will differentiate you and help you become great.
3. Stay focused.
About a year ago, I was researching a topic for one of our programs. I mistakenly opened my inbox and saw an email that I had been anticipating. As much as I wanted to open it, I ignored it and stayed focused on my research. This action was intentional. It was planned…and it was very difficult to do. The ability to ignore distractions is one of the rarest skills among salespeople, but it is one of the most important to becoming great.
4. Practice.
Professional selling is the only results-based career in which its professionals practice less than they execute. Professional athletes practice significantly more than they play. Musicians rehearse many more hours than they perform. Something as simple as 30 minutes of role-playing every week will lift your productivity within a month or two.
5. Prospect.
No one prospects anymore...which is exactly why you should prospect. The challenges are doing it correctly for today’s audience and staying persistent during the first 9-12 months while nothing happens. Let everyone else respond to leads. Get proactive and pursue the type of business and accounts that you want.
6. Apply basic interpersonal skills.
Years ago, all salespeople were decent public speakers, sent hand-written thank-you notes, dressed well, and listened more than they spoke. Today, hardly anyone does any of these things. We are in a different environment, but as long as humans are making decisions, these types of basic interpersonal skills will make a difference.
7. Work hard.
Don’t buy into the hype. No matter what, to be great at sales, you still must work hard.
