What Are You Willing To Abandon To Rise Above The Empty Sales Suits?

"Not managing your time and making excuses are two bad habits. Don't put them both together by claiming you 'don't have the time'."

Bo Bennett

To grow, we must be willing to accept change. Simple for some yet so difficult for many, especially in sales.

Question for all of you to think about... How are you self-managing yourself to change?

According to transformingeducation.org, "Self-management, can be defined as the ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations."

Let's look at this through a sales-centric lens. Self-management correlates to you understanding your personal responsibility in different aspects of your sales life, and you do what you need to do to fulfill that responsibility.

Question becomes...

Are you doing what you need to do to fulfill your sales responsibility to your company and yourself?

I firmly believe to rise above all the other empty sales suits, you must break bad sales habits.

Habits are simply behaviors that impact the decisions we make about how to spend our time, our sales activities, and resources.

From the most tenured of salespeople to the less experienced, recognizing what's a good versus bad habit is the first critical step in understanding why you do certain things while avoiding other things, like prospecting.

I wholeheartedly believe that deeply rooted within bad sales habits, is a complete lack of personal accountability.

Poor performance is due to bad habits

Think about this... What constitutes bad sales habits?

At what point do these habits begin sabotaging your productivity, performance, and more importantly, your pipeline?

EMPTY SUITS OR PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY?

Weak salespeople point fingers and deflect, sales professionals find out what they did wrong and fix it.

Honesty, it is the first step in personal accountability.

How many of you are willing to answer for your outcomes which result from your choices, behaviors, actions, and decisions?

Sales professionals build a strong sense of self, based upon personal accountability and these three things:

• They don't blame others
• They are constantly looking in the mirror
• They always work on their process

Let this quote from J.Michael Straczynski sink in,

"People spend too much time finding other people to blame, too much energy finding excuses for not being what they are capable of being, and not enough energy putting themselves on the line, growing out of the past, and getting on with their lives."

What will you commit to abandoning to rise above the empty sales suits?

RISE ABOVE THE EMPTY SUITS

Will you make the commitment to yourself? Will you be willing to put in the time and do the work necessary to become a true sales professional?

What prevents sales reps from becoming sales professionals?

What stunts sales growth?

What are the ultimate sales buzzkills?

What will you be willing to abandon?

ABANDON EXCUSES

Sales professionals say no to excuses.

A commitment to excellence is the key to unlocking your sales success.

I am deeply concerned with the current state of many within sales.

A sales culture of excuses and finger-pointing has replaced hard work, discipline and determination. 

Unfortunately, many in sales use excuses to rationalize their actions regarding their circumstances, their actions toward other people, and the stories preventing them from hitting their numbers.

Excuses are pure crap and often the primary reasons why salespeople are unable to accomplish what they need to succeed.

Are you willing to take personal responsibility to smash your sales targets?

No ands ifs or buts, you must hold yourself accountable to YOU!

It’s no one else’s responsibility to help you get to where you need to be; it’s yours and yours alone. This means that if you have a crappy month and fail to meet your plan, it’s not your manager’s fault, your customers’ fault, nor your prospects’ fault—it’s your fault!

You must suck it up, self-reflect, buckle down, and get to work. Look at yourself in the mirror and commit to getting better. 

Stop excusing your failures or your procrastination and start taking the steps necessary to become a sales professional.

ABANDON FEAR

Your success depends on you.

Everything from driving profitability, to bringing in new business, and client retention depends on you. 

What's concerning are the number of salespeople who lack confidence with their sales abilities and skillset.

Whose fault is that? Lack of practice, preparation, and planning may have something to do with your low skill set.

With conviction and based on observation, it's no surprise that many well-tenured salespeople are nervous, afraid, and hesitant to do anything relevant to improving their sales skill set.

Why? Fear of being exposed! Yes, I said it!

Admitting one's weakness is no easy step, but it is a step in the right direction.

Develop the courage needed to overcome your fears. Vulnerability will set you free.

Fear of being exposed will keep you in a state of complacency, keeping you trapped with all the other empty sales suits.

We all have the capability strength to change. Becoming vulnerable with yourself won’t hurt you. It may put in a dent in your pride, but it is well worth it.

Set aside the fear...

• Asking for help is not a sign of weakness
• Admitting to yourself that you don't know everything, is not a sign of weakness
• Embracing the chaos and the stories in your mind is not a sign of weakness

Think about this quote from the great Theodore Roosevelt,

"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed."

ABANDON EGO

Sales professionals check their ego at the door.

Social Media, the movies, and a vast majority of the public portray salespeople as egomaniacs with slick-backed hair and a “do whatever it takes to close the sale” mentality.

Perception is reality and it sure does remind us of Glengarry Glen Ross scenes, doesn't it?

While there’s always some truth to stereotypes, the biggest exceptions to the rule lie within each one of us.

A sales ego is a huge growth buzzkill

Ego may certainly play a part in one's success, but it can also hinder one from significant sales growth.

In this highly connected, digitally-driven, and socially empowered business world; highly assertive, a know-it-all mentality along with a super-charged ego will be the kiss of sales death.

Real-deal sales professionals, you know... the true superstars, the ones that sell from the heart... They are open-minded, curious, collaborative, vulnerable, open to learning, and aim for genuine partnerships with their clients.

These professionals are humble, have humility, and operate without any deception whatsoever. This is in direct conflict to the behavior of ego-driven salespeople.

Being an ego-maniac and self-serving ruins relationships, cuts you off from authentic experiences, and erodes your clients' happiness.

“More the knowledge, lesser the ego. Lesser the knowledge, more the ego.”

Albert Einstein

WHAT WILL YOU ABANDON?

What would happen if you removed the excuses, overcame your fears, and squashed your ego? Would this change your sales results? Would this help you in prospecting for new business or strengthen your client relationships?

Start trusting yourself as you look into your sales future. Don't hide parts of yourself your feelings, beliefs, or ideas to fit in or please others.

Rise above all the empty sales suits and take charge of your sales career.

What will you be willing to abandon? I believe we abandon ourselves when we do not value ourselves, when we do not act in our own best interest, and when we do not encourage ourselves.

Let's all be real... We have all laid down the excuse egg. We all have beat ourselves up over excuses.

Whining, moaning, and crying in sales can be prevented. It starts with giving a rip about yourself and your career. Why is this important? You owe it to your employer and more importantly your family.

What will you abandon to rise above all the empty sales suits?