Sales Training Tips - Part 3 of 3

This is the third part of a three part series on Sales Training Tips taken from our book "The Agile Manager's Guide to Customer-Focused Selling":

Sales Professional's Tip #9 - Set Goals. Wise people have said, "Time waits for no one," "To waste time is to waste life," and "Time is the stuff life is made of."

If you look around, you'll see many people acting as though life is a dress rehearsal. To reach your goals, it is important to be satisfied with the way you distribute your time in each area of your life. These different areas include family, social, professional, health, and spiritual. It's important to have balance; each area has an impact on another.

You'll enhance your chances of obtaining what you really want if you:

• Commit to goals by writing them down.
• Are as specific as possible.
• Set a deadline for each goal.
• Measure your progress.
• Aim high but realistically.
• Include long-, medium-, and short range goals.

Sales Professional's Tip #10 - Stay Focused and Set Priorities. After setting goals, decide which activities must be done to reach them. Then prioritize those activities in the order they must be done.

Picture your long-range goals every day to help maximize your effectiveness and get your top priorities accomplished. Ask yourself, "Is this activity going to move me closer to achieving my goal?" If the answer is "NO," switch to an activity that will help you achieve your goal.

Important projects and activities help you achieve your goals. Sometimes things that appear urgent may not be important.

Sales Professional's Tip #11 - Set Goals to Avoid Procrastinating. Procrastination is something that we are all potentially vulnerable to. Procrastinators often perform low-priority activities instead of more important ones. To avoid wasting time:

• Take the suggestions on goal setting to heart.
• Take action and commit to your goals in writing.
• Prioritize the activity that must be done to realize your goals.

Many people procrastinate because they lack goals and priorities. As a result, they may in fact be putting off unimportant activities and yet worrying about them needlessly. But you'll never know until you decide what you should be doing when you get out of bed each day.

Sales Professional's Tip #12 - Analyze Opportunities. Evaluate your chances of making a sale realistically. Decide what the potential opportunity of an account is to you, and how much of your time will be required to close.

Ask yourself if this opportunity is worth more of your time. Could you spend your time more effectively by working on another account? If you're not sure, ask your manager or an associate. Don't chase your tail month after month. Life is too short.

If you're not going to close an account in a reasonable amount of time, drop it. Find another prospect, work on another deal, or turn it over to someone else. But don't beat a dead horse.