Imperative: Goals

There must be a reason why so many books, magazine articles, seminars and speeches are given about goal setting. What do you think it is? To make money? Maybe / probably but that isn't the main reason. It is important? BINGO ! So why don't more of us do it?

Not setting goals makes life so much easier. No pressure to meet expectations. No deadlines.
How about - NO SALES ! Sure some industries are easier to float with the current than others but is that going to help you, your customer, your co-workers or the company?

Some experts turn goal setting into an ordeal by giving you life advice on setting goals for everything. Some focus strictly on the money aspect - Two Million $$ a year at 43% profit, etc.

Most of us don't want to be decathletes but some of us are willing to work on what we understand to be weaknesses. Perhaps we do need to set a dollar goal or a goal for the number of phone calls required per day. Maybe it needs to be to see a new person each time you visit an established account or to invite a customer to lunch more frequently.

Goals need to make you stretch yourself, to be something positive, sustainable and trackable and to be realistic. In a college PE class, we had to set up a fitness schedule that we could implement once we became working adults. I failed it because "this is great if you want to go to the Olympics but not reasonable for the average person with a job and family".

Think about what needs to be accomplished, prioritize, plan and start to implement!

Imperative: FOLLOW-UP

Recently I had an opportunity to follow my own advice. After a very important phone call to sell myself, I provided follow-up in the form of a greeting card to express appreciation for the time given to me. Besides being basic good manners, it is an opportunity to promote your name / company one more time.

The high speed world is providing more and more instant communication, some of which is lost or deemed insignificant simply because of that volume. By using the post office as a follow-up resource, you can increase the chance to raise your visability. Virtually everybody will open a piece of mail that looks like a personal card.



Quality cards for business use are difficult to find. Basic "Thank You " cards are ok, especially with a hand-written note. http://www.successories.com/ has a wonderful variety of cards for business and I have used them for years but be prepared to spend a little money.



Follow-up. It is a selling imperative that should not be ignored but unfortunately, frequently is.

The Imperatives

RELATIONSHIP: perhaps more important today than ever
TIME MANAGEMENT / GOALS: what is your ROI on time and goals reached?
PRODUCT KNOWLEDGE: Customers have less time today for people without knowledge
LISTEN: Ask more questions, listen better so you can understand nuanced conversations
FOLLOW-UP: Grow your business through better communication in all stages
WORK ETHIC: Work Smart, Work Hard, Practice to make yourself better

The Imperatives

With today's multiple modes of communication most of which do not include face to face, I believe the following to be Selling Imperatives:

1. Relationship; your face to face time is being curtailed. It is imperative to make the most of your personal meetings, every time.
2. Follow -up; in a timely manner. Most salespeople are very poor at this important aspect of selling.
3. Listen ; Ask questions and then ZIP IT !
4. Product Knowledge; Surveys show that most customers don't think we know enough.
5. Time Management / Goals; ROI on time spent. Are you making enough money per sales call? Are your goals well thought out and constantly changing?

Many more aspects of course but I consider these to be common weak areas across our profession.