Colleen’s Blog

You can discuss sales strategies, ideas, tips and methods to no end. You can set sales targets for your team to hit, implement a promising new strategy and motivate your sales reps with morning huddles. But, when the day starts, it's up to your team to do the work and create the results. Salespeople don't always struggle due to weak strategy, at times poor productivity habits will seriously hinder their progress as well. Let’s cut to the chase. The best way for your team to achieve true productivity in their work day is to ask them to cut off all inbound access. Now, before your jaw drops too low, let me clarify that you should only ask that they do so temporarily, ideally an hour or two each day. Consider asking them to turn their phone to silent or completely turning it off. They will also benefit from logging out of their email inbox while they work through important tasks. When your team is focusing on outbound business development prospecting, they should not have to deal with distracting, time consuming tasks which take the focus out of their work day. It's great to be able to multitask, but your team will always be able to accomplish more by laser focusing on the task at hand. Want a perfect example of how this simple tweak in productivity can benefit your team?

Are you actively seeking referrals from your current client base? According to recent studies, 78% of happy clients want to give out referrals. Yet only 8% of salespeople actually ask for them. Can you see the disconnect? It doesn't take a math genius to figure out that many salespeople are missing out on key opportunities to increase their sales and grow their businesses. I understand the intimidation factor, but the truth is in order to achieve and maintain any kind of success in sales, you have to push through the intimidation and ask for referrals anyway. They are such a powerful tool to grow your customer base, and not asking for them often enough is doing a huge disservice to yourself and your business. Here's the truth, you will always get a rejection if you're asking for referrals the wrong way. Just like anything else, being successful with gathering referrals requires strategy. <-- Click To Tweet Consider this quick strategy to get the ball rolling:

If you own a dog, you know how muddy they get in April. Conrad (our dog) definitely gets his fair share of spring cleaning baths. The good news? Spring brings about new opportunities and fresh beginnings. For example, while April means muddier dogs, it also means many more opportunities for them to get outside and exercise. Let's face it, winter can severely limit their time outdoors. It's also probably why "spring cleaning" exists in the first place. We seem to emulate nature and if the great outdoors are starting fresh, why can't we? It's important to take time to declutter your home, make space for new things and add that "fresh" feeling to your living space. But, are you taking the time to "spring clean" your sales as well? As we start a new quarter, it's as good a time as any to declutter anything that is blocking your sales success.

"Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits" - Thomas A. Edison When professional athletes are practicing, the word "hustle" gets yelled out by many coaches who want to get the most out of their players. It's true. Hustle can make the difference between an average player and a top producer. The same concept is applicable to salespeople. The word hustle reminds me of a salesperson I met a few years ago who had his sales go up 200% in a slow year for his industry. While his competitors were barely surviving, he was thriving. He attests his success to his hustle and outworking the rest of his industry. I decided to come up with a list of things YOU can do, regardless of your market, industry, or how poor the economy is.

Do your team members possess the key trait for sales success? People are always asking me what they think the number one personality trait of a successful salesperson should be. Now, there is obviously a mixture of key strengths an ideal salesperson should possess, but one that stands out for me is personal responsibility. A salesperson is simply not prepared to reach their maximum potential until they take responsibility for their wins, losses, and their development as a sales professional. Here are a few questions to discover if this trait exists in your next candidate:

I recently had the honour of presenting at the inaugural Million Dollar Consulting Convention presented by Alan Weiss. Over 180 professionals attended the Convention, and while I was there to “teach” consultants how to create a Nonstop Sales Boom, I took in as much (if not more) than I gave out. Here are my top 10 from the week: The key to a successful life is loving every day. If you treat each day as an exciting new opportunity to explore, create, and experience you will always thrive. – Alan Weiss