When I go back home to Georgia for a visit, I always stop by the church we attended when I was a child. It is a bitter-sweet visit for me since I have many relatives who are residents in the cemetery behind the church – including my mother and my step-father. But I also have many happy memories of bobbing for apples, playing games and having “dinner on the grounds” at the long concrete picnic table there.
One of those memories that I hold dearly in my heart was learning the Ten Commandments in Sunday School. John Paul Bledsoe was our Sunday School teacher. He was a good man and did his best to make sure that the young boys in his class were well behaved young gentlemen.
As a young boy, I thought that church was actually quite large. My perspective has changed very much over the years though, because I now see how small it really is.
Perspective can really change how you see many things.
As the sales profession adapts to changes in technology and philosophy – it is easy to get wrapped up in buzz words and gadgets. However, there will always be some basics that do not change. I will refer to them as the Ten Commandments of Sales.
- Whineth not: No one can take credit for your success in sales – and no one else can accept the blame for your lack of success. Accept responsibility for your destiny.
- Settest thine personal goals: What life do you want for you and your family? What income will you need to earn to make that life a reality?
- Derrivest thou a sales target that will provideth thine personal goals: Calculate the sales volume that will provide your income goal?
- Seekest thou wise counsel: Develop a relationship with a trusted mentor or sales leader who can coach you in your skill set areas and activity levels.
- Be thou diligent in developing thine skill sets: Becoming good at anything takes hard work. Becoming good at sales provides great wealth.
- Findeth thou sufficient prospects: Develop a list of qualified prospects to contact through referrals and cold calls.
- Provideth thou value greater than what thy customer shall pay thee: When you become a value creation expert, you rise above the majority of other sales people in the marketplace. Tip the scales of value toward your prospect.
- Taketh thou action: Begin the work. Great selling skills are worthless – applying those skills in live selling situations is valuable.
- Tracketh thine results: You must know your sales ratios in order to see areas for improvement and coaching. Without the data, you are just guessing.
- Seeketh first to understand – then to persuade: Ask questions to understand your prospect’s current and future issues. Make recommendations after you fully grasp what is important to them.
Tomorrow – the Ten Commandments of Sales Leadership.
QUESTION:
Which of the commandments above are the most challenging to you?
Recent Comments