If you’re a sales person and you care about your clients, your personal development, your career, and your company, then I have a message for you.

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It’s Time To Up Your Game

Are we’re failing our customers, prospects, the companies we work for and ourselves?

In the past 15 years, there have been crazy advancements in the area of sales tools, from CRM’s that do just about everything except your laundry to data or insights applications that deliver a full dossier of your client’s life straight to your phone or desktop. There are even apps that tell you when to call a prospect and what to talk about.

Not surprisingly, advancements in the sales world don’t just come in the area of tools and applications; they also come via new organizations structures like inside sales, inbound marketing, ABM (Account Based Marketing) and more, all to make selling more efficient, faster and more predictable.

Selling has been turned on its head by technology.  It’s never been easier to sell.

Yet, I lament, it appears we are doing less selling than ever. We’ve become slaves to the machine.

In spite of all the new tools, new methodologies, insights, our selling, our commitment to the craft of selling is waning, and it’s time we get our act together and become the valuable purveyors of change our prospects expect from us.

Too many of us are operating from 20th-century sales rules that no longer apply, and it’s not longer OK or acceptable.

New Rules of Selling

Rule 1: You have to care about your customers and prospects.

I mean genuinely care about your prospects and buyer’s success and business.  Put them first, become an expert in their business, be able to bring value to them before you ask for something in return.  Your prospects are the ones with the money; they are the people with a problem, treat them that way. I don’t suggest you be their slave, but for sure stop looking at them as an ATM. Put your customers and prospects first. Build your selling methodology around them, and you can’t go wrong.

Rule 2: You don’t matter

Your prospects and customers don’t give a rat’s if you’re the top rep, are going on Presidents Club or are on a PIP. They care about their business and are looking for you to make a difference in THEIR world. They have their own set of goals, objectives, and needs that have nothing to do with you. Stop getting upset when they cancel a meeting, don’t show up to a call or choose the competition. It’s not personal. You nor your product are at the center of the universe. Pull up your big boy pants and move on.  The truth is, it’s probably your mistake that cost you the deal in the first place.

If you want to sell better, just keep in perspective, you don’t matter.

Rule 3: Stop sending stupid emails

The number of stupid emails salespeople send out is at an all-time high. Stupid emails are emails that do nothing for the recipient. They are selfish requests for time, and rarely offer anything of value for that time. Stupid emails unnecessarily interrupt a prospects day. No, your buyer doesn’t want to give you 15 minutes in their crazy busy schedule to tell you about their organization or discuss how you can improve their business.

Just stop.

If you can’t offer something of value, in the email that’s not product specific, don’t send it.  Learn how to create emails that create value for the recipient. Learn to create emails that teach, educate and inform the recipient.

Learn to write emails that give more than their asking.

Rule 4: You’re not that good

It’s time you stop thinking that because you’ve made Presidents Club 5 years in a row and because you’re one of the tops salespeople you have nothing to learn.