It’s how the top dog spent their 10 minutes

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It’s 4:30 and she just wants to get home. Emotionally, her bank account is at $0.00. Here’s the conversation inside of Robin’s mind.

Robin’s logic: “Oh, there is the company I want to cold call. That would be such a killer account.”

Robin’s emotions: “Yeah, but I am so tired and I worked hard today. I will call on that next time. I’ll be back in this area in two weeks.”

Robin’s logic: “Yeah! You did work hard! You’re right. Next time.”

Robin just closed the deal! In honor of one of my favorite movies, Glen Gary, Glen Ross, Robin – go get that cup of coffee! Oh, but the wrong deal!

What exactly happened? Robin justified what she wanted emotionally with a logical explanation. You see, we are all great salespeople.

You have justified thousands of bad decisions with yourself thousands and thousands of times in your lifetime, and you will do it many more times.

But hopefully now, it will be less than it was as you uruguay telegram data are now aware of what your mind and emotions are looking to do.

Remember, we are always looking to move towards pleasure, and when we identify something we want, our response becomes emotional.

We learn to justify having that pleasure at any cost even if it contradicts what we THINK we want. THAT IS HUGE. So stop, think, and then choose.

It’s the only way to give yourself a chance to make the decision that is best for you.

Undercurrent #3: The Principle of Accumulation
The true story below says it all:

Bill had come in second place in sales revenue for months. The person holding him back from the cherished title was Ron.

Bill finally became so sick and tired of being second that he came up to me frustrated during a break in a sales meeting.

Here’s their dialogue:

Bill: “Mark, what does Ron do that I don’t?” (I was so excited he finally asked!)

Me: “Bill, what do you do when we have a break?”

Bill: “I go chat with Tom or one of the guys for a few minutes.”

Me: “Right. What do you see Ron doing?”

Bill thought for a moment and then answered, “He grabs his stack of prospects and makes calls.”

Me: “That’s exactly right,” I agreed.

I then went on to explain to Bill that if Ron is able to make 5 calls in 10 minutes that isn’t really a big deal in itself.

What IS a big deal is when we calculated what that would mean over an entire year (the numbers will vary by industry):

Three 20 minute breaks during a half-day sales meeting.

10 calls per break = 30 phone calls per meeting.
30 phone calls per meeting x 12 meetings per year = 360 phone calls.
360 phone calls = 60 appointments
60 appointments = 20 new accounts.

So, what is the difference?

Big deal? One time? No.

Cumulatively? BIG TIME.

In this business, 20 accounts per year equals a LARGE amount of money.

The lesson? The sum of all of the small choices you make, isn’t small at all, and selling strategies alone aren’t enough to guarantee your success.

As I say in all my talks to sales teams about the undercurrents that drive your behavior: BE AWARE or you better BEWARE.5 Tactics to Create Scalable Sales Skills
Ultra-high performers have sales skills that are built to scale. These skillsets are responsible for their adaptability and achievements, even during tough economic times. The following tactics can help you develop scalable sales skills that will make you more versatile and successful no matter the circumstances.

In times of disruption, ultra-high performers seem to accelerate faster. They make more contacts, create more opportunities in the pipeline, close more deals, and make more money.

They do this even when economic times are on a downward spiral. It seems crazy and unlikely, but there is a reason why this occurs. Ultra-high performers have sales skills that are built to scale.

They have invested in creating skillsets that will weather the test of time—good or bad and everything in between.

The good news is that no matter where your skills are, there is hope. Here are 5 tactics to create scalable sales skills:

Virtual selling skills are here to stay.
The best individuals and companies are constantly adjusting and pivoting. What may have worked 30 years ago, certainly may not work today. The best have wholeheartedly embraced the techniques around selling virtually. They know that blending traditional selling with virtual selling will allow them to optimize coverage in their territory, touch more prospects, and increase their win probabilities as a result. The research numbers do not lie. According to a Gong.io study, leveraging video in your sales process increases closing percentages by a whopping 41%. A HippoIO study has also found that video messaging decreases the sales cycle by a stunning 40%.

Discovery skills never go away.
In rough times, desperate salespeople tend to do and say “unnatural” things that signal red flags to any prospect. Instead of probing, they pitch. Prospects pick up on their desperation and pull away. The salesperson keeps pitching because they are spiraling downward and their prospects pull even further away. Continued separation occurs. Even when times are not so great, asking great questions still works. The more questions you ask, the more you remove yourself from a state of desperation and into a state of guidance. In rough times, prospects are certainly seeking guidance! They need to find ways to maneuver through their current situation. Salespeople that guide are salespeople that win, and winning starts with discovery questions.

Time management works in any environment, at any time, and anywhere.
Generally speaking, most people are dreadfully bad at managing their time. They think that they can multi-task and fail to realize that effective multi-tasking is an impossibility. Instead of taking charge of their day, they let the day control them. Breaking EVERY day up into definitive chunks of tasks allows the ultra-high performer to maximize the 24 hours that we are all given each day. The paradox of time management is that it is very simple, yet so very hard. Start here: block off periods of time and allocate specific tasks in those blocks. Then, stay true to your mission. Repeat this the next day. Over the course of the 30 days, you will create a habit that will allow you to excel—no matter what the circumstances may be.

Thoughtful content is useful content.
What we have seen is that ultra-high performers DO NOT WAIT for others to post, curate, or share useful content. They take it upon themselves to push useful, educationally related content into the marketplace. Prospects don’t “lean into” pitches, but they will lean into relevant and useful content. I built several consulting firms on the backbone of providing good content. It naturally allowed me to become an expert and we know this to be true—people crave expertise that can help their businesses. It starts with content and it starts with you.