Sales Gravy: Jeb Blount

Some customers see the value you and your company bring them. They appreciate your ability to solve their problems and they are willing to pay you for that service. These are also the customers who respect you (and the people who work for you) and who understand that as a business you are entitled to a fair profit. Other customers nickel and dime you, run you and your people ragged with service demands that sap your time and your profits, are late paying bills, and show you no respect.

Big or small failure hurts. Every once in a while, just when you feel everything is going your way, failure hits you like a bulldozer and takes you down. It is emotional. Sometimes devastating. You feel stupid. Regretful. You get down on yourself. Your ego takes a hit. And you work to hide your failure from others out of embarrassment. Winners embrace the gift of failure. One of the key traits of highly successful people is their ability to acknowledge and respond to failure in a way that allows them to learn, grow, and remain on track. They use each loss, each mistake as an opportunity for personal development. For them failures not only teach lessons but also open doors that lead to new opportunities.

In our daily lives we are faced with a nearly constant barrage of conflict. We argue our points, access blame, and stand our ground. From time to time we get our egos bruised by others and that makes us want to fight. And in conflicts with prospects, customers, colleagues, partners, friends and family one thing remains consistent - we want to be right. So much so that at times we will argue that we are right even when we are clearly wrong just to save face.

In our daily lives we are faced with a nearly constant barrage of conflict. We argue our points, access blame, and stand our ground. From time to time we get our egos bruised by others and that makes us want to fight. And in conflicts with prospects, customers, colleagues, partners, friends and family one thing remains consistent - we want to be right. So much so that at times we will argue that we are right even when we are clearly wrong just to save face.

Sales Managers bear 100% of the responsibility for the performance of their sales team yet receive little glory for their efforts. In most cases sales managers earn less than their top salespeople. Yet, the best sales managers work longer hours, endure more stress, and have greater responsibility than the salespeople they manage.

Even salespeople have to deal with other salespeople. If you pay attention you'll see and hear mistakes you can learn to avoid when working with your prospects and customers. For example: Never, ever tell your prospect to go get other quotes and then come back to you. That's committing sales malpractice!

The Law of Replacement is a critical sales concept to internalize because failure to heed this law is the reason salespeople get on, AND stay on, rollercoasters. Up and down. Up and down. Until one day they get so far down that they cannot get back up again. (Get the free Sales Gravy Interview Guide at: http://interview.salesgravy.com)

Jeb Blount is the bestselling author of People Buy You and an internationaly recognized expert on sales. He believes that Sales Professionals are the Elite Athletes of the Business World. On the Sales Gravy podcast Jeb teaches you how to open more doors, close bigger deals, and rock your commission check.

There is a brutal fact in sales. A fact that most unemployed salespeople failed to acknowledge: The number one reason for failure in sales is lack of prospecting activity. Period. There is no sugar coating it. Prospecting sucks and you need to get over it. The real truth is, if you want to be successful in sales you must prospect consistently. If you dream of having a superstar income and living a superstar lifestyle you must be fanatical about prospecting.

Thoreau said success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. This quote is a succinct description of the Universal Law of Need which states that the more you need something, the less likely it is that you will get it. In other words, desperate salespeople rarely succeed in getting what they need the most . . . a sale.

Successful salespeople have developed a habit of looking inward for inspiration, motivation, and accountability. They have developed the disciplined habit of finding solutions to problems while the less successful people have developed the habit of finding excuses for failure.

In life one fact is certain, no matter who you are or what your circumstances, opportunity will come knocking and when it is at the door how you respond will have lasting implications for your success and ultimately your happiness. Opportunity is always tugging at your shirt tail urging you to move forward and inspiring you to dream. Champions master their choices and respond to opportunity by reaching out and grabbing it.

If you don't know where you are going, how do you know when or if you get there? Yogi Berra said: "If you don't know where you are going, you might end up some place else? If you don't know the objective and targeted next step for each sales call how will you know what questions to ask, where you are in the sales process, what to ask for at the end of the call or even if the call was successful? Targets, goals, and objectives are essential to success in sales. If you don't take the time to align your activities to exactly what it is you're trying to accomplish, then you are doomed to a career of mediocrity as meander aimlessly through your sales days.

Life is too short to spend it doing something you hate. Put absolute focus and commitment on being your best so that you live up to your potential and promise. Lean into fear, take risks, and focus on where want to be rather than worrying about where you are. Give it everything you've got, set big goals, and never let anyone out hustle you.

Packing up and walking away from a deal that is going nowhere is one of the hardest things to do in sales. Even some of the best salespeople I know have continued to work on accounts that, from any observer's point of view, were a complete waste of time, only to regret the energy, time, emotion, and resources they poured into it once the deal was lost. There are the legions of salespeople who never seem to let go. They hold on until the final painful moments when prospects, that never had any intention of buying, finally break the truth to them.