Switch On Your Sale Blog

CRUCIAL MINDSETS TO SALES MASTERY PART 1: Desire

sales mastery

DESIRE

It is the quality of ‘desire’ that distinguishes world’s best sales performers from average sales performers.

Napoleon once said “The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat.”

A strong desire to succeed is a prerequisite for success in sales. Sales is not for the faint-hearted, it requires courage, energy and a thick skin to be successful. On average, you will hear “no” more often than “yes”. This is why a strong sense of internal desire is required to keep you in the game with laser focus to achieve your goals.

Your desire needs to be attached to something and cause you to be discontent with how things currently are to inspire change.

If you are lacking desire, I can almost certainly guarantee you that you’re not a goal setter or your goals are not attractive enough to motivate you.

Goal setting is...

CRUCIAL MINDSETS TO SALES MASTERY PART 2: Consistency

sales mastery

CONSISTENCY

To be consistent requires commitment. World’s best sales performers commit themselves to a continued, sustained level of effort towards daily disciplines over the long-term. This consistency is connected to a compelling reason to do whatever it takes to succeed.

Commitment and consistency are strongly related. True commitment is the willingness to consistently do the hard things in your sales role. Commitment is not tested when you are willing to consistently do the easy things or the fun activities in your role.

How willing are you to consistently do the uncomfortable things that are required for you to be successful?

Research shows that 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls and that 44% of sales professionals give up after just one follow-up call. A sales professional who lacks consistency and persistent effort will take the path of least resistance and will more easily give up on a prospect when they experience stalls or objections. Whereas those committed to...

5 Crucial Components of Emotional Intelligence

sales leadership

Emotional intelligence contributes 80 to 90% of the competencies that distinguish great leaders from average leaders. Traditionally the qualities associated with leadership such as intelligence, being tough, determination and drive are insufficient to become truly effective, great leaders. In fact the research shows us that great leaders have a high degree of emotional intelligence, including self-awareness motivation, empathy, social skills and emotional control. A leading expert in the field, Daniel Goleman, has found direct links between emotional intelligence and measurable business results.

Following are short excerpts on the 5 crucial components of emotional intelligence for sales leaders.

1. SELF-AWARENESS

Definition:

The ability to recognise and understand your moods, emotions, and drivers as well as their effect on others.

Hallmarks:

Self-confidence
Realistic self-assessment
Self-deprecating sense of humour

2. EMOTIONAL CONTROL

Definition:

The ability to...

Motivation Toolkit

sales mastery

Motivation is a desire to achieve a goal, combined with the energy to work towards that goal. Deployment of energy is therefore often evidence of motivation.

Whilst it is easy to see the things that a person does, it is much harder to guess or imagine why they are doing them. For example why do we go to work, participate in certain leisure activities, eat what we do, compete in certain sports?

We do all of these things because we are compelled by a desire to satisfy a need.

The force that compels us to satisfy these needs is called motivation. This motivational force will arouse enthusiasm and persistence to pursue a certain course of action and when we are rewarded for the action or behaviour we are motivated to repeat it.

Knowing that motivation is essential to achieving success and knowing that your aim is to inspire your salespeople to motivate themselves there are tools that we can use.

Success = Ability x Motivation (SAM)

Motivating people is an ongoing process and...

Coaching Conversations

sales leadership

The GROW model, created originally by Sir John Whitmore is an effective model for structuring your coaching conversations with your team. It provides the hooks to enable you to move the coachee through questions and the stages of a coaching conversation, and most importantly, move the coachee to take action.

G stands for Establish The GOAL

Start off by looking at the behaviour that needs change. Structure this change as a GOAL that the coachee wants to achieve.

Make sure it is a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound).

It’s useful to have in your mind some form of measurement such as:

How will you know that the goal has been reached?
When is the problem solved?
Does it fit with the objectives of the team?

R stands for Examine The REALITY

Ask the coachee to describe their current REALITY. It’s important to do this as it gives you a clear grasp of their starting point. As you hear their current reality, the solution may start to...

7 Laws of Negotiation

sales mastery

The Seven Laws of Negotiation will help you to organise your thinking whilst preparing for and during negotiations.

1.Be conscious of the difference between positions and interests. If you can figure out why you want something, and why others want their outcome, then you are in a much stronger position.

2. Be creative. Ask lots of effective questions to uncover the other party’s needs and emotional wants; listen to the sometimes outlandish statements and be open to unanticipated possibilities. These often will lead you to unexpected agreement opportunities. If you respond with new ideas and do the unexpected, you can open doors to far greater things than when you behave predictably. Creativity can make everyone look good.

3. Be fair. If people feel a process is fair, they are more likely to make real commitments and less likely to walk away planning ways to wriggle out of the agreement.

4. Be ready to commit. You shouldn’t make a...

Model Sales for Conversions

sales mastery

G stands for Establish The GOAL

Start off by looking at the behaviour that needs change. Structure this change as a GOAL that the coachee wants to achieve.

Make sure it is a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-bound).

It’s useful to have in your mind some form of measurement such as:

How will you know that the goal has been reached?
When is the problem solved?
Does it fit with the objectives of the team?

R stands for Examine The REALITY

Ask the coachee to describe their current REALITY. It’s important to do this as it gives you a clear grasp of their starting point. As you hear their current reality, the solution may start to...

Are You An Effective Coach?

sales leadership

As a sales leader you are responsible for coaching your sales team on their skills, development and performance. Are you coaching your team effectively?

Here are some key characteristics of an effective coach:

Self‐awareness, observation and reflection
Recognition of where influence and change can be achieved
Emotional awareness of self and its impact on others
Understanding of own strengths and development needs
Ability to listen intently and challenge without judgment and without defensiveness
Seeing qualities in others, even if the coachee does not see those qualities within themselves
Being a role model
Ability to move others beyond their comfort zone, so that they may learn new behaviours
Being a passionate advocate of the coaching process, so that others are inspired to stretch themselves
Recognising when to push, when to hold back, when to support and when to challenge
Staying on course and focused on the desired outcome even if the coachee loses...

Problem Solving for Sales

sales leadership

Problems in the workplace can cause you and your sales team to lose momentum, they can sap energy, consume whatever scarce time you have, damage careers, break the bank balance, rob you of excitement and so many other headaches. This article is intended to help you solve problems by giving a framework for effective problem solving. The framework is comprehensive and the process easy to follow, regardless of the circumstances you face.

Solving sticky, uncomfortable problems is often an unwelcome task but problem solving can be very rewarding and give you a great feeling of accomplishment having faced off against a tough issue within your team and come out a winner.

The Problem Solving Process: Six Steps to Better Outcomes

The process of problem solving starts with:

The Story! Recognise what actually happened and why. This is followed by:
The Temptations! To recognise the reality of human nature to succumb to irrational impulse rather than engage in rational problem solving....

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