Sales Fundamentals

By Thomas Jensen

 

#1 Introduction: Process Beats Lofty Goals Every Time

Let’s be blunt. A career in sales can be rough. On top of the quota you’ve got meetings, time on the road, paperwork, and the five-star service expected by customers and prospects.

As I travel meeting teammates, partners, and customers I see many promising sales reps struggling to move the ball forward on their accounts. An important part of my job—arguably the most important part—is figuring out how to help them succeed.

In this series of Sales Fundamentals posts, I’ll share what I’ve learned.

And spoiler alert.

It’s not complicated. Or difficult.

Sales is hard work. But incorporating these steps and simple processes into your daily workflow will increase your probability of sustained success.

Long-term success is important because it does a lot more than put more money into your pocket. When you’re focused on the long game your efforts are aligned with the strategic goals of your organization. It’s how successful careers are built, not just quota-beating months.

 

What separates the successful from the struggling?

These steps, if followed as a process, separate successful from struggling salespeople.

Think of it this way. Telling yourself “I’m going to blow out my quota and make a ton of money this year,” sounds really good. But with no plan on how to actually do it, you’re not setting yourself up to win the success that should be yours with all the hard work you’ll be putting in.

The other problem with lofty goals is that you can’t focus on them 365/24/7.  No human has that kind of energy.

But what you can do each and every day is follow a few simple processes that are neither complicated nor all that difficult.

They’re routine and easy, like brushing your teeth in the morning. With my teams I call this the ‘hygiene factor.’ I realize this may not sound right in every language (I’m Danish, based in Silicon Valley, and I run a global team) so I’m now calling it my Sales Fundamentals.

If you follow the simple steps in my posts, you’ll build a foundation for ongoing, long-term success. And you will succeed in meeting and exceeding your lofty goals.

So what separates a process from a lofty goal?

Think of Monday morning. You wouldn’t consider leaving the house for work without taking a shower and putting on clean clothes. Doing so is one of your ‘daily fundamentals.’

 

Sales Fundamentals are similar.

My approach is not a Tony Robbins-style adrenalin rush you’ll need to summon every day because, in reality, as amazing as Tony is, that’s just not sustainable.

Of course it’s important to be enthusiastic and believe in yourself, your company, your team, and the products and services you represent. But if this isn’t coupled with the steps of a simple, basic process, you will not be successful in the long term.

In my experience, motivation and enthusiasm never replace or trump competence and skillsets. You need both. But, for times when your enthusiasm may flag (and let’s be real, it happens), weaving my Sales Fundamentals into your daily routine will drive your success and enhance your career and earnings.

The steps are disarmingly simple. They have to be so that they become habits that are easy to implement, almost automatic.

This is why it works.

You’re putting in the time. Follow these Sales Fundamentals and you will succeed.

Let’s get started. Click here for Sales Fundamental #2.

© Thomas Jensen 2020