Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The 4 x 4 selling principle - what's your goal?

During my career as a sales professional, I always find myself looking for ways to stay active and focused on my goal.  I've made the mistake of looking ahead and counting on "potential" sales...ouch, so a few years ago I established some core principles to keep me focused.


This requires giving some attention to the age old question, "What is my goal"...aside from getting lost in the meaning of life I narrowed the focus and kept it simple.  Keeping things simple is important in managing your goals, plus, I'm a pretty simple guy so double bonus points awarded.


Cynthia asks herself the right question everyday, "is what I'm doing right now helping me reach my goal?"  This is a great question we should all be asking ourselves.

Greg is a connection of mine and he posted one of the more meaningful quotes I have witnessed in the last few months:  "If it takes less than two minutes, do it now!" Great rule of thumb and talk about a simple way to keep you focused on your goal.


My goal....

and to get this I must become a trusted advisor!

I don't allocate my time to specific hunter or farmer activities.  I have been a sales rep long enough to know I am a farmer, so I have put myself in a position that will take advantage of my qualities.  I continue to network, speak, teach, share and talk with anyone who wants to know more about cloud computing.  Great farmers are experts in their field, I will continue to put the majority of my time and efforts towards my goal.


I shape my week to reflect my 4 X 4 principles;  these are the top 4 things I Must Do 4 of, in order to reach my goal.


1.  4 coffee meetings.  A coffee meeting is with someone I've never had face to face interaction with, it can be personal or business.  I may initiate the meeting to talk parenting, sales or technology.  
2.  4 Sales appointments. (My bread and butter)  Prospecting meetings, proposal presentations or a tour of our facility.
3.  4 Hours of prospecting.  Must Must Must always be looking for prospects.
4.  4 Events per month.  Attend local IT events, and take it a step further, find organizations that have a mission you support and get involved.

Proposal writing, internal meetings, committee meetings and social networking are additional areas that command my attention too.  But, if you are interested in becoming a "trusted advisor" set your goal on a 4 x 4.

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