If you are watching the motivating Olympics, you are watching dreams come true. I enjoy watching perfection being executed on a world platform. Most of us will never have the opportunity to perform on a world stage of this magnitude.
That being said, one of the questions I'm frequently asked is - what makes the difference in selling or success. This question is often related to the Selling Magic program we customize for clients and how they can implement it successfully. This is an easy question, because the answer is so evident to us. We find that there are specific factors to success in selling or just about anything in life that must be applied.
Step One - Start with a Clear, Vision
Every achievement begins with a dream. If this is true, do you dream of reaching success in your daily selling activities? If you are not, you are missing out on a powerful motivator and success stimulant. Professional athletes are noted for practicing the art of visualizing success. For me, a great example of creating a vivid visual of success is watching Tiger Woods. Tiger will patiently and clearly visualize the path of a golf ball in his mind before his putter touches the ball. Visualization is one of the reasons he is the best golfer in the world. If we want to achieve success in our chosen field, we must visualize what successful selling will deliver. This visualization includes more than just seeing ourselves successful. We should also imagine hearing customers saying yes to a closing question and the feeling of a completed sale.
Step Two - Crystallize Your Goal with a Written Plan of Action
When you picture success in your mind, the picture can be as clear as you want it to be. So, make it a clear, vivid image. It will help if you slow down the mental moments in you mind. Our minds are memory recorders so we can relive these powerful success motivators whenever we want to. With a strong visual memory, you can describe this on paper and create a written plan of action. This plan of action defines what you must do to reach your goal. This sales action plan must be detailed and written. Anything less, will not be good enough.
There are many people that will say "I have a plan." However, in many cases, the sales plan they have is NOT written down and only in their heads. This imaginary plan doesn't count as a qualified plan of action. The plan of action could be on a napkin or in a bound note book as long as it has multiple steps to follow and is written down. There is something magical about having a written plan of action you can follow that makes a difference. The important thing is to have a sales plan you can visualize and relate to on a regular basis. For example, many of my clients post our sales map on their wall so they can visually see their proven sales plan workflow. The sales work flow map serves as a visual reminder of what needs to get done and the route(s) to move the prospect forward.
Having a sales plan by its self is good, but it is not enough unless you develop a habit of measuring your success, following and implementing your sales plan. It is important to know how you are doing so you can adjust the activities of your success plan.
You will want to adjust your sales plan like an airline pilot who makes adjustments to a flight plan to stay on course so you reach the right destination. Airline pilots are subjected to multiple reasons for changing a flight course. Businesses and salespeople need to consider the same mind set, because things change and we will get off course if we continue to follow the original sales plan with each client. With a complete sales plan that maps out different sales workflow options, you will have multiple ways of charting a course for success. For this reason, you must have a well thought out sales plan.
Step Three - Make Yourself Accountable
One of the greatest benefits of applying a systematic approach to selling is accountability. When your sales system asks a salesperson what the next step in the selling process is, you have accountability. You have a great plan when an occasional action notice or reminder requires the salesperson to evaluate the account and determine what the next sales action should be. This evaluation process is like the pilot checking the instrument panel of the plane and making a corrective change in altitude or direction to reach the destination. If this action is not taken on a regular basis, the plane may not reach the right destination and put it's self in jeopardy.
Having a coach or a group of like-minded friends will help you stay motivated. Just don't hang around the negative people who will deflate your ambitious goals. Writing down your accomplishments in a journal or a calendar will help you stay on track.