Energy is an interesting thing, isn't it? We can do the same activity - say, work out or make dinner - but bring a different energy to it, and our experience and results can vary dramatically.
The same is true of our sales and revenue goals.
The start of every year seems to have a frenetic energy that everyone buys into. We set our New Year's Resolutions and within two months, 80% of us will have lost focus, drifted off of them and contracted back into old habits. Plus ça change...
There are umpteen articles and books available to guide you through goal-setting processes. And there are many well-respected leaders in the success field that talk about getting into peak state so you can accomplish more than ever before. I do take the time to learn and absorb some key strategies from these leading lights each year.
But right now I want to talk about the rest of the time! I want to talk about the 80% of us mere mortals who get bogged down with inboxes and family demands and sales targets and the never-ending onslaught of information that must be processed and prioritized. Good grief. No wonder our best intentions fade after a few weeks!
Life is what happens while you're making other plans.
So while we are making plans to attend that life-changing intensive workshop, finally drop that 15 lbs or train for our first marathon, let's look at a grounded and effective way to increase your sales revenue:
Keep it dead simple. We all have aspirations to improve in 10 or 20 different ways. We can get high off of a New Year's planning session - I speak from experience! We hope that this is the year we're going to make it all happen. And that may be true. But one way to guarantee permanent improvement is to work on one thing, and one thing only, at a time.
Yes I know, this sounds far less sexy and exciting. There are just so many things you want to see improve! But permanent improvement is sexy!
Pick one transformative skill and master it. Sales conversations are about skills mastery and being present. The greater the mastery you achieve, the more the skills disappear, leaving you present to fully connect with your prospect. Like watching Kyle Lowry on the basketball court, or Virtue and Moir during their ice dancing championships, you don't see the thousands of hours of practice and muscle and skill-building. That effort disappears in their performance, and all you see are the beautiful results.
This is not to say that it will take you thousands of hours to master your sales conversations! With focused attention, you will, in fact, see improved results after only an hour or two. To make those results permanent, stick with that one skill until you can do it without thinking. Until it has become your new normal. I suggest one calendar month.
Here are a few transformative skills to work on: (By transformative, I mean that mastering any one of these skills will permanently increase your revenue. Master several, and look out world!) Strong introduction, building a genuine connection, transitioning smoothly from social to business, questioning skills, articulating the value of your services, handling objections, closing. Pick one and commit.
Adjust your measurement of success. Yes of course you are looking for results like more appointments booked and more business closed. And you will see gradual improvement with these macro results. But when working on a skill, it's important to measure the micro successes.
Take questioning skills. As you focus on asking more open and high-impact questions, keep an eye out for the following hallmarks of success:
- your prospects are more engaged
- you talk less and they talk more
- the quality of your conversations improves
- you uncover a compelling need
- you are in the driver's seat of your conversations
- more people say yes to appointments
When you are consistently getting these results, you've internalized this skill. You own it. And now you can move on to the next one.
Getting permanent sales lift doesn't have to come with a lot of stress and frenetic energy. You can feel relaxed and grounded and get results. Now that's something you can maintain well beyond New Year's resolutions!
Want some accountability to lock in your new habits and generate permanent sales lift? Click here to book a Free Business Breakthrough Consultation and see if private coaching is a fit for you.