On May 6, 1954, Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old British medical student, became the first man to break the four-minute mile barrier. His final time was 3mins 59.4 seconds. Up until that time not only had it never been done, but no one believed that it could be done. Until Roger that is.

Bannister had a serious running setback at the 1952 Olympics, and as a result he spent two months contemplating whether he should continue to run at all. Ultimately he decided on a new goal instead – to be the first man to run a mile in under four minutes. Doing what no one believed could be done, Bannister believed in himself and visualized the possibilities, thus turning his belief into a tangible reality. And once Bannister broke the record and proved it was possible…runner after runner started following in his footsteps.

Moral of the Story

Roger Bannister reflected on his wins and his losses. Once he firmly commited himself to breaking the four minute mile, he got honest with himself about his strengths and weaknesses. With that knowledge, he put a solid plan in place to achieve his goal.

Whether you own the business or work for someone who does, Roger’s story applies to YOU. Your sales skills must be top notch because the clutter in the marketplace is deafening. If sales aren’t quite where they need to be, maybe it’s time to take an honest assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. Until you know what is getting in your way, it’s going to be hard to turn it around.

I have the pleasure of being a guest blogger over at the Consultative Sales and Sales Management Professionals of Canada site. What a classically great example of the power of social networking through communities like LinkedIn. Marshall Northcott (editor) and I connected over LinkedIn. He liked my comments in groups and my blog posts and he invited me to join his team of guest bloggers. It may have taken me all of 5-seconds to say yes:). As a long time sales professional, Marshall has great insights about selling, but today he posted something just a little bit different. This one is all about what you are probably doing wrong if that job is still eluding you! The principles apply to closing deals by the way, so READ THE POST and leave a comment if you are so inclined. If you like…please pass on the love by ReTweeting!

Me too. Haven’t you noticed how many so-called social media experts have come on the scene? People figured out quickly that social media is the buzz, so they figured they could jump on the gravy train and make a quick fortune. It’s easy to spot the wannabes though. Here are few clues:

1. They don’t blog or if they have a blog there isn’t much on it.

2. They have like 25 connections on LinkedIn and think that’s a big network.

3. They started using social media about 6 months ago, if that.

4. They think that email marketing is the same as social networking.

5. They are not getting business using social networking approaches now matter how much they trash talk about their expertise.

6. They can’t tell you the core differences between Twitter, Plaxo, Facebook, LinkedIn or StumbleUpon.

7. Their website has no social media presence at all.

What does this all have to do with sales?

I’ve noticed during the last two years how many coaches and consultants are now claiming to be sales experts with this or that program to help you achieve success. Talk is cheap so the saying goes. I’m about results. You can’t fake experience and a demonstrable history of success. People often get into sales training or sales coaching, because they smell easy money when they have little or no experience as a professional sales person themselves.

Case in point…

A few years ago, I met a woman at a networking event who said she was a sales coach. I said, wow – that’s interesting. Tell me about your sales background. You know the punch line, right? She had no experience. Zip, none, nada! But she thought that she could coach sales people anyway. There is no hard and fast rule that says you MUST have business experience in the area where you intend to offer your coaching service, but it certainly does help. And if you are going to coach or train sales people then you darn well better know what it’s like to walk in their shoes.

Sales (I believe) is a little different from other organizational functions. If you’ve never sold professionally, you will have a hard time truly understanding the challenges that sales people face. You won’t be able to fully know the motivation that is required to sell day in and day out. There is no way that you can feel the stress of being pressured by leaders on high to get the deal…now.

Oh boy, here it comes. I can hear all those wonderfully trained coaches out there just itching to challenge me on this point…please don’t bother! I’ve sold close to a billion dollars in products and services through the years, so I have a little bit of background in this area. And, no, I’m not an expert. I just have actual experience selling. If your paycheck has never depended on achieving a sales quota every month – you don’t know what it is like, and I don’t care how many powerful questions you ask…you don’t know! Moreover, sales professionals will not take you seriously anyway.

What’s my point? If you plan to call yourself an expert or offer sales coaching as a service, you darn sure better have the goods to back it up!

Perception is reality so the saying goes. Never is that more true than when it comes to the process of selling. How you view this critical business function will either help or hinder what you plan to achieve. It seems to me that more than one sales person out there needs this reminder. For the record, I’m calling anyone – that means you too Mr. or Ms. business owner who needs to sell a product or service – a sales person.

Great selling is an art. Those people who do it well understand that it takes a plan, it’s hard work, requires internal motivation, takes time, it requires consistency, and it’s about building relationships with people. Let me say that again…sales is a people business. You won’t get far if…

• You can’t get over your fear of rejection.

• You can’t check your ego at the door.

• You think “selling is bad” versus “sales is simply a way to help others solve their business problems”.

• As a business owner, you think that selling doesn’t apply to you.

To me, these concepts are blindingly obvious. Still, I am often amazed at the people I meet who have something to sell, but they insist that they “hate” selling or that they just don’t want to do it. To me this attitude tells me a few things about you:

1. You naively believe you can avoid sales and still succeed at hitting your revenue goals and personal earning goals. Not gonna happen folks! To be clear, marketing is not selling, so don’t delude yourself in thinking that sending out marketing emails or newsletters is all it takes.

2. Ego is in the way. In other words, the focus is on you – the sale you want to make – not on what is necessarily best for your prospective buyer. Go into each sales call determined to understand the needs of your buyer without pitching what you have to sell.

3. You don’t believe in the value of what you have to sell. If you don’t believe, no one else will. It’s that simple!

4. Fear of rejection is stronger than your desire to succeed. A “no” doesn’t mean never, nor is it a personal smack down of you as a person. No will happen no matter how good you are. Use it as a learning opportunity. Was the timing off? Was your value proposition confusing? Did your competitor offer just a little something extra?

5. You believe that one or two contacts means the sale will automatically close. Yeah, yeah, I know that a good many sales training programs out there will tell you that they can help you close the deal in two conversations. It certainly can happen IF you happen to meet someone at the exact moment they are ready to buy, you’ve established quick rapport and perhaps the product is at a low enough price point that there isn’t much worry about making a buying mistake. If what you sell is a complicated sale, it’s an intangible service or you are asking for a lot of money, prepare for the sale to take some time.

Sooo…do you have a sales mindset?

If you found yourself saying…ooppss, that’s me…when you read my list of 5 above then your sales mindset needs work! If you hope to generate revenue now and in the future, you need to develop a sales mindset fast. Love it. Embrace it. Enjoy it. If you believe that what you have to offer can help others get what they need…selling is not hard at all. What you focus on expands, so focus on success!

Now that I’ve given you a kick in the butt…stop making excuses. Get out there and get selling!

Some would say that we are in a “down economy” and while that may certainly be true for some industries, I believe the real truth is that it is NOT the economy. It’s our attitude!
 
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article called “We Are What We Think About”. I believed it then and I believe it now. And, I would add that our success is directly proportional to the positive OR negative thoughts swirling around in our heads. Even when times seem tough, it is our attitude, our point of view that makes all the difference between succeeding and failing. I refuse to buy into the myth that “no one is buying”. That seems an easy excuse for some not willing to dig in and do the hard work, or those succumbing to their inner fears of scarcity.
 
Here’s Barb’s #1 Tip: Shift your thinking when times are tough, believe in yourself and what you have to offer, and close your ears to the noise of the pessimistic attitudes that could threaten what you want to achieve. A shift in thinking also means that you must be willing to be creative, look for new approaches to selling your products or services, perhaps work harder and stay focused like never before.

In the June edition of Selling Power Magazine, Scott Lindsey of Besam Entrance Solutions had this to say: “We have a sales force that, for 10 years, has not had to work hard, just go after the low hanging fruit.” Now, with economic changes affecting their business, Lindsey tells his people that “they’ve got to roll up their sleeves; now it’s going to be hard work.” He adds: ” Lots of younger salespeople do not understand that. Anybody can sell when things are really good.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. The true measure of your abilities shines through when you rise above the tough times to accomplish what you decide you want!
 
Look, don’t get me wrong. I know gas prices are ridiculous, I know that we’ve had serious problems in the mortgage industry, which in turn is affecting other businesses AND at the same time I’ve heard from a number of people in those industries that they are still succeeding. Throughout history there have been down times and there have always been people who’ve succeed in spite of “the down economy”. I choose to be one of those people! What about you?
 
The author of the best selling book Harmonic Wealth, James Arthur Ray, says, “Live from the outcome!” So what outcome will you live from? Will you be wildly successful by refusing to believe in the fears propagated by others, or be too scared to even give it a try?
 
Here’s to your sales success!

Some would say that we are in a “down economy” and while that may certainly be true for some industries, I believe the real truth is that it is NOT the economy. It’s our attitude!
 
A couple of years ago, I wrote an article called “We Are What We Think About”. I believed it then and I believe it now. And, I would add that our success is directly proportional to the positive OR negative thoughts swirling around in our heads. Even when times seem tough, it is our attitude, our point of view that makes all the difference between succeeding and failing. I refuse to buy into the myth that “no one is buying”. That seems an easy excuse for some not willing to dig in and do the hard work, or those succumbing to their inner fears of scarcity.
 
Here’s Barb’s #1 Tip: Shift your thinking when times are tough, believe in yourself and what you have to offer, and close your ears to the noise of the pessimistic attitudes that could threaten what you want to achieve. A shift in thinking also means that you must be willing to be creative, look for new approaches to selling your products or services, perhaps work harder and stay focused like never before.

In the June edition of Selling Power Magazine, Scott Lindsey of Besam Entrance Solutions had this to say: “We have a sales force that, for 10 years, has not had to work hard, just go after the low hanging fruit.” Now, with economic changes affecting their business, Lindsey tells his people that “they’ve got to roll up their sleeves; now it’s going to be hard work.” He adds: ” Lots of younger salespeople do not understand that. Anybody can sell when things are really good.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. The true measure of your abilities shines through when you rise above the tough times to accomplish what you decide you want!
 
Look, don’t get me wrong. I know gas prices are ridiculous, I know that we’ve had serious problems in the mortgage industry, which in turn is affecting other businesses AND at the same time I’ve heard from a number of people in those industries that they are still succeeding. Throughout history there have been down times and there have always been people who’ve succeed in spite of “the down economy”. I choose to be one of those people! What about you?
 
The author of the best selling book Harmonic Wealth, James Arthur Ray, says, “Live from the outcome!” So what outcome will you live from? Will you be wildly successful by refusing to believe in the fears propagated by others, or be too scared to even give it a try?
 
Here’s to your sales success!