To Increase Sales, Are You a Lion or a Gazelle?

There is an old anonymous proverb, probably African in its origins that speaks to everyone in sales.

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It know it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion also wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It does not matter where you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you had better be running.

The real issue is not who you are, but rather what you do.

• What actions are you taking to increase sales? What sales skills are you using to realize business success?
• Are you expecting sales to drop from the skies and land at your front door step?
• Are you so busy attending civic meeting, chamber meetings and not walking away with at least one new lead at each of these events?
• Are you confusing motion with progress and activity with results?

Sales is 24/7 especially with the advent of the Internet. Your sales goals must be constantly in front of you. You should reviewing these goals each and every day. Do you set aside 12 minutes each day to review today's results and tomorrow's schedule?

At the end of the week, you need to return to your sales action plan, marketing action plan and if you have one an overall strategic business growth action plan. Do you set aside 12 minutes at the end of the week to review this week's achievements and look to see where your goals to results are specific to your action plans?

What I have observed in working with sales professionals including financial advisors, insurance agents, realtors, real estate agents, new car salesmen to new car sales women along with a plethora of small business owners is that many of them do nothing. My first clue is that they lack the necessary plans from which to work.

Lions have a plan when they go after a gazelle. Gazelles have plans to avoid the lion. Yet most sales people do not have a sales action plan. They live by spraying their actions all over the place and praying that they will stick. This is a recipe for disaster.

Yes, they think they are doing something, but at the end of the day, they have no new leads, made no sales appointments and have no new commitments to purchasing their products or services. President Theodore Roosevelt said:

In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing; the next best thing is the wrong thing; and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

Let us be honest. Not having the results (increase sales) equates to nothing. At least the gazelle and the lion know the results from waking up running - staying alive.

Are you a gazelle or a lion? Do you want to increase sales? Then register for free professional sales skill assessment.

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