Rome wasn't built in a day...

They say that Rome wasn’t built in a day (and I’m pretty sure they’re right on that one…)

So, whether you’re saving for your first home, studying for a degree while working full-time, or having a lifestyle change and trying to get super fit – you need to be patient, focused and prepared to stay the course, as none of these things happen overnight.

The same is true if you’re restructuring your sales team, overhauling your sales process, trying to sell in to new markets, or if the sector you work in just has a particularly long and protracted sales cycle.

If you’ve thought about it properly, considered and weighed the various options, and everything tells you it’s the right thing to do – then it is! Don’t shy away from it from because it’s hard work or takes time and you’re not going to see the results overnight!

The fact is, regardless of what it is you’re trying to achieve, the sooner you start down that path, the sooner you will start to see the rewards and the fruits of your labour. So, whilst nothing truly worthwhile happens overnight, when you do eventually reach your end goal, I’m sure the feeling of accomplishment is very special and your commitment, and dedication to the cause, is rewarded ten-fold.

It doesn’t matter what sales objectives you’re trying to achieve, in addition to patience, focus and commitment, you also need flexibility. It’s unlikely that you’ll get your strategy 100% right at the first attempt, so you need to constantly measure your progress against your stated objectives and, if you’re not progressing as you’d hoped, you need to dig in to the process to understand why, and then make informed changes to your approach.

I’m not advocating constant change as that never works, which is why your strategy needs to be properly considered from the very start. I’m talking about breaking the objective down in to stages and then taking an informed 'test & measure' approach to ensure you’re always moving in the right direction.

The specific things you need to test and measure clearly depend on the objective you’re trying to achieve so I can’t be more specific at this stage. That said, I’d be more then happy to discuss any specific challenges your having if it’s within my area of expertise i.e. sales and business development in the built environment.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day” is an adage attesting to the need for time to create great things. So, for all of you that are brave enough to break from the old routine and try to implement real change to create a better life for yourself, personally or professionally – I wish you every success!

Have a great Easter bank holiday guys!