If someone asked you as the sales professional, to name the two must tools that would dramatically increase sales, what would be your response? I recently asked this question to a group of small business owners, sales professionals and executives. The answers were many and included these:
PDA
Calendar
Business Cards
Elevator Speech
Cell Phone
Computer
Vehicle
Website
Thoughts
Customer database
All of these are great answers, but to increase sales begins before you utilize any of these tools within your daily sales behaviors (sales skills).
Before I share what I believe are the two most critical tools, let me ask you a question.
Where do you begin to increase sales?
Do you attend more business networking events?
Do you buy more ads be them Google or media?
Do you make more phone calls?
All of these activities could possibly increase sales, but this is not the real place to begin. The real place to start is take your thoughts and turn them into actual written plans and goals.
During the past 10 years, I have lost count of the number of sales professionals to executives who tell me that they want to increase sales. My first question is "Have you placed your sales goals to writing?" The answer over 90% of the time is No. My response is how can you increase sales when you do not know how much you want that increase to be; where you want those increases; and the results specific to profitability from those increases?
By now, you may realize that the TWO most critical tools to increase sales are a pen and piece of paper for a proven goal achievement worksheet. For when you commit a goal to writing using a proven goal worksheet, something almost magical happens. You have taken an intangible thought and turned it into something tangible. Sales Coaching Tip: Start with pen and paper and then when writing your sales goals becomes a routine and daily habit then look to your computer.
Think of the everyday common written grocery list. Now remember what happens when you leave that list at home. Failure to have that list creates additional wasted resources of time, money and energy. When you have that written list in hand, you stay on budget, save time and save your own physical and emotional energies.
Even if you only use a pen and a piece of paper you will increase sales. However to secure a dramatic increase requires the use of a proven goal worksheet that contains a goal achievement process.
Sales Coaching Tip: So if you truly want to increase sales, find a proven goal achievement process that has been integrated into a goal worksheet. Then take pen in hand and commit each sales goal to writing. Finally, work that goal each day as an integral sales skills and within a very short time, you will realize your sales goals.
