“If you don’t have a plan for yourself,
you’ll be part of someone else’s.”
-Unknown

We are now three weeks into 2010, which means your sales plan should be in full swing. If you haven’t made one yet, let’s give you some tips to makes sure you are on the right track. In order to make your plan work, you need two components. The first is a Strategic Objective that includes the larger goals you want to accomplish. Those goals might include becoming your company’s top sales performer. Another might be to grow your business by 20%. Whatever those Strategic Objectives are, it is important that you match them up with a very specific Tactical Plan. These are the smaller milestones that will help you get to your larger objectives. If you are in sales, you need to do the following:

1.    Determine exactly how much product you need to sell each week
2.    Determine how many live sales presentations you need to deliver each week to reach that sales goal.
3.    Determine exactly how many prospecting calls each day it will take to reach the sales presentation goal

For example, if you need to sell 5 of your focus products each week to reach your yearly goal, you may have to present to 10 prospects each week. To get those 10 presentations, you may need to prospect with 20 new potential clients. Which means you need to make 4 prospecting calls each day. Once you have that number in your plan each day, let it HAUNT you! Don’t end the day until you reach that Tactical Objective.  By breaking down your plan to a measurable daily number, you will have created a plan that sets the course to making you your company’s top sales performer. See you at the TOP!

“No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other’s worth.
-Robert Southey

Do you look at your customers as friends? And do they see you as a friend? And what is your definition of friend? Well, the dictionary describes a friend as a person you know well and regard with affection and trust. But as it relates to business, I have another definition. I believe a friend is somebody you care about so much that you feel you OWE it to them to keep them informed of the latest products and services you offer. Because if you truly believe in the benefits of what you sell, wouldn’t you FIRST want your friends to know about it.

But unfortunately, the word “friend” has been distorted by countless salespeople who believe that if they try to present too many new solutions to a “friendly” customer, they will suddenly stop being their friend. On the contrary! Because by delivering value to your “buddies” you will create friends for life. And your friendship will be built on a foundation of service, not a foundation of knock-knock jokes, indifference and sales guilt.

So this week, don’t forget that while many of your customers make you feel like you are part of the team, your friendship is NOT what they are paying for. They are paying for your professionalism, your knowledge, and your ability to match their needs with the perfect solutions. Keep selling them products and services that make their life easier, more efficient and more profitable and you will create value-based friendships that are nearly impossible to break.

Staying Young in Business

Recently during one of my seminars I had a rookie salesperson tell me that he was told by his manager and some of his company’s tenured employees that it was going to take him a while before he “truly understands the business.” But what those seasoned folks don’t understand is that because he was told it was going to take a while, guess what…it IS going to take a while. That well-intentioned advice, in fact, only encouraged him to take his time getting to the TOP. But here was my advice to him. Respectfully smile, listen and learn from as many seasoned business professionals as possible, but don’t EVER let them dictate how long it takes you to reach your potential. Only YOU have control over that decision.

For example, this week I had a fella named Cameron Johnson on my weekly business radio show. Cameron is a millionaire, just published his second book on entrepreneurialship (You Call the Shots), created and sold more than a dozen internet businesses and was recently a business guest on CNBC, Fox News and more. Oh, and did I mention that Cameron just turned 23 years old! So what’s the point? Well if you ask Cameron, he will tell you he has no more skill and knowledge than anybody. But what Cameron does have, like many successful young business people, is tone deafness to those who tell them that the path to business success is going to take “lots of time in the trenches.”

While the lessons learned from time in the business are invaluable, there are some things that the rookie employee can do to speed up the clock:

• Seek out knowledge from tenured employees and learn from THEIR experiences
• Add only 15 minutes to each work day
• Take that 75 extra minutes each week to learn something new by reading a book, a journal or internet newsletter
• Stay tuned to the latest technology in business that can make you more efficient
• Don’t let your mind grow old

Oh, and don’t think you need to be 23 to have the heart and desire of a rookie. Because as Douglas MacArthur puts it, it will be your faith, self-confidence and hope that will act as your “fountain of youth.” And armed with that, you may find yourself at the TOP more quickly than you ever imagined.

To listen to Brian’s radio interview with former teen
self-made millionaire Cameron Johnson,
go to www.preciseselling.com/Radio.htm.
It will either motivate you…or make you sick to your stomach!