Sales shouldn't be hard...just hard work!

Most of my friends consider a career in sales "easy" money...roll into the office around 9am, long lunches and afternoon golf sessions...r  i  g  h  t...unless you are selling Cisco in 1999, its hard work.

I was in a slump over the winter and happened to get invited to join a Linkedin group.  This nutty guy was talking about Jedi mastery, kicking ass, and called himself Uncle Paul...I figured what the heck.  I will check it out, and either block him or learn something new...I was in a serious need for a momentum swing.

I read several post before it dawned on me...basics.  The basic rules of sales have NEVER changed,  What makes a person successful in sales is A C T I V I TY.  There are 3 things I always come back to when I hit a slump;

1.  I don't need to bored with arguments about social networking versus cold calling.  The bottom line is, do what comes naturally and what you are good at....and seriously...do it!  Set aside time everyday to connect with outsiders by calling, connecting or networking.  Whatever your method, ACTIVITY DRIVES OPPORTUNITY.

2.  Be an expert in what your selling, the 10,000 hour rule! I don't need to understand the details of a specific technology, but I better understand how your products and services can solve complex business issues.  And don't be afraid to turn down the sales ratchet.  Instead, get involved in professional organizations.  Stop treating it as opportunities to sell your product, but as opportunities to work side by side and get to know your prospects!  What better way to gain respect and trust, than by working on committees with business leaders who are passionate about the same things I am.

3.  Get motivated! Kick up the volume and let "Rock N Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" be heard around the office, head phones are a good option too.  I tend to watch some of my favorite movie clips to get me in the mood to cold call, like Al Pachino's Speech.

So sales is hard work, but it can be fun and rewarding too.  Always be enthusiastic about the approach, have a solid plan of attack, stay active and find sources of motivation to work through the tough times.  Of course getting a jump start from a crazy sales professional like Uncle Paul helps too.

Some People have connections...

I am not sure how it works...well I know how it works, you have to know someone who knows someone to get information before the rest of us.  This is definitely the case with Nigel Edelshain, no sooner did I get his latest post, then I get an update from linkedIn about the enhance capability of using the Company Watch feature!  Damn, I'm not sure who Nigel knows, but seriously to get his post out before LinkedIn.  My hats off.  In case you missed it here are a few of the highlights:


"LinkedIn is, in my opinion, the number one tool for B2B sales people to have in their tool box when trying to get into target accounts. Primarily this is because it allows you to build and leverage relationships. But as LinkedIn continues its relentless pursuit of Facebook it keeps adding features that give real-timeupdates.These real-time updates are a perfect source of trigger events.
"Trigger events" are changes in your prospect's environment. These changes cause opportunities for you as a salesperson as they create new pains or needs that your product or service may be able to address."



You should read on..Great stuff Nigel.