I Was Just Thinking- Random Sales Thoughts

I was just thinking about sales and selling-

We have a lot of sales people missing quota. I wonder how much time they spend reading and studying business books, blogs, sales articles and magazines ( like this one). Imagine going to a doctor for a procedure and they say they aren’t really sure how to do it but I have been binging  “Loudermilk” on Netflix. Part of being excellent at any endeavor is a commitment to learning and training. If you are not prioritizing those two things, you are failing or will fail. 

Being a leader, sales or otherwise, is brutally difficult. If you do not have a Mentor and /or a Therapist, fix that right now. Immediately.

Technology never moves backwards. 

Executives have no interest in talking with someone who can only tell them what they already know.

My friend Steve Richard once shared a list of things he had learned from 11 years of running a business. I post the list 1-2X / year on LinkedIn. The one item that continues to run through my mind and has never failed me is “when two arrows independently point in the same direction, pay attention”. 

Too many sales people and leaders have no idea how to qualify a deal or do discovery. RevOps doesn’t either. I keep saying it and writing about it. Qualification is about time management and discovery is about solution fit. Imagine driving into a BMW dealership in a 2001 Honda Accord, walking into the showroom wearing a “Def Leppard” concert t-shirt, asking to drive a new 5-Series and having them just throw the key fob to you and saying “ have a nice ride”. You may have just won the lottery or closed a $5M deal to earn a huge commission but they sure as hell are going to ask some questions before you get into any vehicle. Now do you get it?

Read. Not just sales books. Read about history. Read about business. Read biographies. Leaders read. See above about who executives want to talk with and you will quickly figure out that they are readers and lifelong learners.

There are no overnight sensations in sports, acting, business or sales. Read “Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight. Read “Losing My Virginity” by Sir Richard Branson. Learn the story of Amazon and how they started by selling books online and why they did that. If you want to get rich you have to put in the time.

There are jobs you have to leave after a year. There are times when you will lose a job after a year. As a hiring manager, when I see a work history with no tenure more than two years it is a huge red flag. It tells me that I may invest in training you and as soon as you are really productive you may quit and probably at the worst possible time for me and the team. That costs me and my company hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. Think about that before you quit your current job. Or the next one.

Don’t complain at work. Don’t complain to your coworkers. If you have a problem, be an adult and go to your boss. If the problem is with your boss, get all of your facts straight and go to their boss. You can be the top rep and get fired because you are viewed as a “cancer” that is bringing down the team. I have fired top reps. Almost every leader has done this and always for the same reason. If you are going to take the paycheck, do the work you are asked to do. Anyone is free to start their own business and make their own rules. If you do that, I promise you will expect this same mentality from those you employ.

Sales isn’t easy. It was never easy. It’s not going to get easy. That’s why really good salespeople make really good money. The best salespeople make really good money every year, not for one or two years or every few years. Every year. They put in the time and effort to excel.

I love JR Butler, Founder and CEO of Shift Group and his tagline “No one cares, work harder”

If you are not sure why we love sports metaphors in sales, it’s because we are pursuing individual accomplishments while working to have the team succeed. The “team” includes Finance, HR, Product, Customer Success… no one wins if no one sells. 

Above all, if you are reading this know how fortunate you are. There are at least 4 billion people on the planet that would trade places with you right now.

Good selling!