Excerpt from 91 Mistakes Smart Salespeople Make
MISTAKE #1: Lacking Clear Focus
You usually bring into your life whatever is consistent with your focus. You can focus either on what is not working or what is, what you don't have or what you do, what you want or what you don't want, what you believe in or what you don't. There is a great
line that says, "Be careful what you ask for-you might just get it."
One of my favorite quotes is by the late tennis great Arthur Ashe. He said, "True greatness is, start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can."
Most sales winners are grateful for their blessings in life and focus on what they want, have, and can do. By the same token, most losers focus on what is missing, where they are not, and what they can't do.
Let me give you an example:
Salesperson A complains constantly. Prices are too high. Brochures are not up-to-date. He doesn't have a laptop or cellular phone. His territory is too small and has too few prospects. There is inadequate internal support staff. It's raining.... You get the picture. If this type of salesperson is doing poorly, he can find a reason why (other than himself).
On the other hand, Salesperson B-a winner-learns to work with what he has. He improvises, innovates, adjusts, compromises-whatever it takes to get the job done with the tools he has.
A key ingredient in all leaders, winners, effective people, and productive and successful organizations is focus.
Turn It Around
Focus on what you want, not what you don't want.
MISTAKE #2: Stop Learning
Is next year going to be better than last year, about the same, or worse?
Every year thousands of salespeople start the New Year with big goals, wonderful intentions, and executable plans. However, at the end of each year, thousands of salespeople can be heard asking themselves, "Where did I miss the boat? What did I miss? Why was this year not much better than last year?"
Over the years, one common denominator I have observed in successful salespeople is their willingness to invest in the continued improvement of their skills, attitudes, and philosophy.
What did you invest in yourself last year? Not in your bank balance, home improvements, travel, or daily maintenance, but in yourself. And you don't get to include what your company invested on your behalf in seminars, courses, or learning materials. If you are excelling in this demanding career, I will guarantee you have invested more in yourself than you have in going out to dinner. If you have invested more in personal entertainment, I will bet you are not achieving what you could be and that you end each month and year with frustration and worry.
Life is an interesting relationship between paying the price and winning the prize. Between self-investment and rewards. Between investing time in personal development and your ultimate success. It is never too late to begin an aggressive ongoing self-development program. There are hundreds of books to read, training CDs and tapes to listen to, and seminars to attend. Don't wait for your organization to invest in you and your future value. Take full responsibility for the quality of your life and learning. I strongly urge you to do it now.
Turn It Around
Invest 10 percent of your time and money in self-improvement.
MISTAKE #3: Not Being Organized
Clutter. Technology. Stuff. A full plate. Sales reports. Personal interests. Home life. Career. Relatives. Friends. Too little time. Too much to do. Meetings. The list goes on and on.
One of the things I have discovered about successful salespeople is their ability to handle a variety of tasks, problems, issues, responsibilities, and challenges at the same time. I am talking about personal management.
Below is a method for approaching personal management.
1. Start with a plan of what you want to do.
2. Prioritize your goals, objectives, tasks, projects, etc.
3. Stay focused.
4. Get rid of the clutter in your life.
5. Concentrate on one thing at a time.
6. Don't stick with anything that you are not passionate about.
7. Have routines for the regular tasks in your life.
8. Get up earlier. Go to bed later.
9. Organize your workspace so that you can be more productive.
10. Learn to say no more often.
11. Develop the habit of Doing It Now.
12. Don't make commitments you can't keep.
13. Respect and value your own time.
14. Play when it is time to play, and work when it is time to work.
15. Use technology as a tool, not a crutch.
16. Throw away the stuff you don't need, use, or want.
Turn It Around
Plan everything. Finish it. Then move on to the next thing.
