Get Busy, With A Purpose
Some people measure their success by how busy they are and others measure it by performance. If you believe you are doing the right things because you are constantly in motion you may be disconnected from how your company measures success.
In selling, measures of activity such as how many people you see and how many asks you make are measures of only activity levels, while closing is a measure of performance. The sellers who excel at their craft are the ones that are able manage activity level and performance.
In the selling world, we are judged by our performance. Performance is strictly measured on closes or sales made. While it is true we must be active to make this happen, simple activity will not reach the monthly budget.
There is a stark difference between having a variety of appointments and having a variety of appointments that produce real results. This usually starts at the top of the funnel. Garbage in equals garbage out. If we are not putting high quality leads into our selling funnel, it is impossible to get performance on the back end.
If you find yourself going to customers and prospects without a purpose, you may fall in the category of just having activity. Every time you walk through someone’s door, please remind yourself of why you are doing it. It should not be because you want to “meet new people.” Your intent should be to sell them something they need.
Former ITT executive Harold Geneen once said “Your read a book left to right. But, you run a business backwards. What is the end result you want? And now what are all the steps you need to get there?”
If you are going from appointment to appointment just to hit an activity goal, you may have missed the sales meeting where we covered purpose. You may be in the category of professional visitor. Last time I checked, it did not say that on anyone’s business card.
There are three real metrics for us to determine successful behavior. How many people you call on and ask to buy something, the amount of the ask and the how many we get to agree with us and say yes. As the amount we ask for goes up, the amount that say yes to us may go down.
When that happens, we have to look at what we are putting into the sales funnel. The same prospects we have always called on may no longer qualify for what we are asking. Salespeople that complain about company pricing standards may need to look first at what they are placing in the sales pipeline. Unqualified on the way in equals no sale on the way out.
It often surprises me when sales people make a call on a business and then don’t ask the business to buy something. No one, in the history of ever, has been surprised when I ask them to buy something. In fact, they would be extremely disappointed if I did not.
Do not forget why you darkened that person’s door step that day – it wasn’t because you just wanted someone one to hang out with – (if that is the case, get a dog). If you are a sales person, and you showed up to see a prospect, you should ask. Otherwise, you are just busy without a purpose. Get busy with a purpose!