Shackled potential
Too many salesmen are conditioned to accept their perceived limitations
By Tom Cummings -- Industrial Distribution, 6/1/1999
DESPITE THE WIDELY ACCEPTED BELIEF that there is a strong correlation between success in sales and having clearly-defined written goals, I'm astonished that more sales professionals don't subscribe to this process. Do you follow this success plan by defining your goals and committing them to writing? If not, why not?According to the Pareto Principle, the top 20 percent of the sales force accounts for 80% of all sales and profitability. If you want to move from the 80% into the top 20%, keep on reading. You can enter into an elite class of super salesmen if you are willing to change. But change isn't easy because we are programmed to accept our perceived limitations.
As a youngster, I was mesmerized by the sights, sounds, and smells of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's circus, "The Greatest Show on Earth." As I strolled through the midway on my 10th birthday, I stood fascinated before a family of elephants. I noticed that the rear leg of each full-grown pachyderm was strapped to a small metal stake in the ground.
But the baby elephant was tethered to an enormous chain attached to a huge steel rod from which it kept trying to pull away. I remember asking the animal trainer if there wasn't some mix-up. He assured me that all was proper. He explained that the baby elephant would, like the larger animals, soon be shackled by the mental acceptance - programming - that it could not escape.
What about you? Does your thinking shackle you? Are you thinking, "I've tried written goal setting but it didn't work for me?" Maybe you quit trying too soon. As a youngster, how many times did you swing a bat before you finally hit the ball consistently?
Your written goals are only the first step. You must then ask the who, what, where, when, why and how questions to establish a written plan of action to achieve your goals.
For example, if your goal is to achieve 30% growth with a targeted customer or market segment you might ask questions like:
- How can I better prepare for my sales calls?
- How do I become a better listener?
- Should I start selling benefits instead of features?
More than a generation ago, one glassware manufacturer's salesman far outperformed all of his colleagues in the sales of safety glass. At a national sales meeting he shared the secret of his success. While all of the other salesmen were extolling the virtues of the new product, he was placing a piece of the safety glass on the buyer's desk and whacking it with a hammer.
That shared idea propelled the sales of his colleagues. Yet, at the following year's meeting this top performer's sales were still superior. When again asked "Why the huge increase?" he responded, "I put the hammer in the hand of the buyer and let him swing." The best performers always become better because they ask "What can I do to improve?"
Are you like shackled animals held captive by bad programming? Maybe it's time to start establishing written goals and creating an innovative plan of action to propel yourself into the top percentile.
Tom Cummings is vice president of finance and administration of SNR Bearings USA, Inc., in Smyrna, Ga. He is also a professional speaker, seminar presenter and author.
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