20 Lessons Learned in 2020

Many leaders lost their way and unsung heroes were deservedly praised. Our mental health was pushed to the limit. Business went into panic mode to survive. Many failed. For others, there were success stories. Here’s my personal development, sales and business experiences.

1. Kindness is one of the most underrated qualities in business.
2. Mental Health is a serious problem. We've gone from 1 in 5 people having mental health challenges to almost 1 in 2. Digital detox once a week. Stop obsessing about the news and stop checking email first thing in the morning.
3. When times are tough, the people closest you often break your heart. People you hardly know often become your greatest supporter.
4. If someone says they’re okay, it doesn’t mean they’re okay. Listen more and judge less.
5. Never stop caring - whatever you give to the world, positive or negative, comes back to you.
6. Some people will resent your success no matter how nice you are - don’t hate them. Hate is too easy an emotion. Smile and move on.
7. Video on LinkedIn gets almost 3 times the engagement of a normal post, so post 1 video a week. It's a gamechanger.
8. Prospect every day even if it’s just for 1 hour a day.
9. Always be learning – the more you know, the more you grow.
10. Ask for help. Take advice from experts who’ve been there and done it. I’ve been in sales for 26 years and I still pay a sales coach to keep me accountable and get results.
11. Don’t work with terrible bosses…

12.  … at the same time, learn from terrible bosses on how not to behave.

13.  Don't rely on one source of income. Have at least 5 ways your business makes money. I lost my speaking slots and corporate sales training in March 2020. It was so scary. I made up for it with high-ticket masterclasses, speaking online, a 2nd book, an ebook and 121 sales coaching.

14.  It’s okay to make mistakes, it's not okay to make the same mistake twice.

15.  Nobody needs more emails. Pick up the phone and talk to people.

16. Your network has never been more important.

17. Don't be embarrassed about selling. It's about helping people get results.

18. Since the first lockdown, most people failed to become better at sales. My mission is to raise the standards of sales and I will never stop until I do.

19. Don’t be embarrassed about achieving success when others struggled. If you made the sacrifices, invested in the right coaches and systems and treated people well, then good for you. I wish you more success.

20. So much has changed this year, more than ever before. One thing hasn’t changed. People buy people they trust and like.

Niraj Kapur is an online sales coach, LinkedIn Trainer and author of the Amazon bestsellers, Everybody Works In Sales and The Easy Guide to Sales for Business owners. He’s delivered successful training to over 204 businesses including people at Barclays, Google, Natwest, Informa, Western Business and Safeline Environmental.

To understand sales better and generate results for your business in 2021, contact [email protected] or call +44 7733 179854