The Sky Is Falling!

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The Sky Is Falling!

Written by Adrian Miller

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Attack Yourself

Nothing feels better than winning. But while you are cashing that big commission check, relaxing on the beach at your sales award trip, or walking on stage at your national sales meeting to pick up your trophy ask yourself this question: What next? You see, winning was hard. It required perseverance, training, hard work and focus. But all too often, after achieving our big goals we take our foot off of the success accelerator and just coast for awhile. Relaxing in the glow of our victory we quickly forget that the game is still on, our competitors are not resting but instead are plotting our demise. I was reminded of this yesterday when I read a marketing slogan for a company that had just received a top award in its industry. The slogan simply read:

You just closed the biggest deal of your career, you blew away your quota, you made the president’s club, you were named sales rep of the year. You just crossed the finish line first . You raised your hands, pumped your fists, and celebrated. You are a winner!

“When you’re in second place attack the leader. When you’re in first place Attack Yourself.”

What a perfect message for winners. In the 21st century there is no time for complacency. We can not afford the luxury of comparing ourselves to those behind us. There is no time to rest easy. And though we must take time to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of victory, we must also stop and create new goals for ourselves. We must learn to take each win in stride and raise our own bar so that we keep reaching higher.

It is easy to look back poor performance or a failure with our 20/20 spectacles on and find all of the areas where improvement can be made. But it takes loads of self discipline and the heart of a winner to break down a brilliant performance and then take action to make small adjustments and improvements that keep us ahead of the pack. The great NFL quarter back Steve Young said once that “the principle is competing against yourself. It’s about self-improvement, about being better than the day before.”

In fact this is what all elite athletes and elites sales professionals do. Real winners constantly attack themselves. They pick apart each performance and seek ways to improve. It is the unwavering focus on constant improvement that separates the good from the great.

You can’t pick up a newspaper or turn on your TV these days without being bombarded by the doom and gloom about the impending recession. It’s enough to make any salesperson want to hide under a rock until happier days return.

However, there is a silver lining in those dark clouds. Consider the warnings a call to action to prepare your business to ride the cycle. If you play your cards right during a downturn, you will not only keep sales up through the cycle, you’ll also find yourself in an even better place when the economy begins to pick up. So, turn down the drone of financial doomsayers and start working this prime opportunity to increase your sales.

Stay Close

Stay close to your customers and prospects in tough times. Dazzle them with customer service. Be one step ahead of their wants and needs and always, always be proactive and anticipate their needs BEFORE they have to ask or remind you. Give them something for nothing. This doesn’t necessarily mean a tangible item. Offer them valuable information, introductions, or some of your extra time.

Cross-Sell

Make certain that you are cross-selling all that you have to offer your customers. This is not the time to leave business on the table for your competitors to scoop up and perhaps even win your part of the business as well.

Focus on Competitive Advantages

Remember that your key competitive advantages are valuable ONLY if they equate to an improvement in situation for your customers and prospects. The bottom-line here – if you can’t offer them an improvement, why should they make a change.

Become an Advisor

Be more than just a salesperson; develop meaningful solutions for your customers. Think out-of-the-box strategies, get creative. Put yourself in the mindset of being a valuable resource to those you sell to.

Work Harder

Most importantly, when times are tough – work harder and smarter, make more calls, utilize better touch-point management, and network, network, network!

Success In Any Economy | The Sales Gravy

Adrian Miller
		About the author:
		Adrian Miller Sales Training designs and delivers executive-level strategic consulting and sales-level performance training for your unique business. As a recognized sales training expert, Adrian’s results-driven solutions go far beyond “theory” and “feel-good rhetoric.” Her vision is focused exactly on what you need: a sales force that is achieving more.Bernadette Doyle publishes her weekly Client Magnets newsletter for trainers, coaches, consultants, complementary therapists and solo professionals. .