Why a breakthrough sales target needs a breakthrough mindset.

My experience working with sales leaders has taught me a few things:

1. They always smell nice
2. They are very, very driven
3. They know what has made them successful

My experience has also taught me that because of points 2 and 3, they are often quite reluctant to change.

The thing is, when there is increased competitive pressure, especially in declining markets, we expect our sales people to perform at ever greater levels: get more clients/leads, innovate in their approach, make more money, do it faster than before… all the while operating above board.

There is much pressure on sales people to continue to perform and deliver, and in the conventional world, this means just doing more of what they’re good at - the way they’ve always done it. Because it’s always worked before.

Going beyond harder, faster, longer

There always comes a point when tried and tested techniques don’t work anymore, and this is when stress sets in.

I have seen established and successful sales people wear themselves to a frazzle by trying to deliver more by stretching themselves to their limits in terms of time. Getting up earlier, going home later. Applying the same techniques as they always have. Having the same conversations - just a lot more of them.

And it is often a surprise to them that all they seem to be increasing is their blood pressure!

To coin a well-worn phrase - “If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always got”. I want to change this adage to: ‘slightly more than what you’ve always got’

The grammar is bad, but you get the point.

It’s incremental gain. It’s slow and it’s demoralising.

If only they could see there is another way.

You see, most sales people instinctively know that it is who they are being that helps them make the sale. And this is often why they are so opposed to change. It’s an ego thing.

Don’t get me wrong – we all have an ego thing going on with our jobs.  It’s just for sales people, the feeling is that the client is as much buying them as the product or service.  We’re back to the old ‘Know, like and trust’ scenario.

If we are truly committed to growth in sales, we must also be committed to growth in self. And inevitably that means change.

Are you willing to develop your sales growth mindset?

Surfacing the things that have made us successful in the past, acknowledging them and the successes they have brought us is a healthy practice in our own development. So is then consciously choosing to change, beginning to operate in a different way, fully aware that in this new reality of growth that we are bringing about, our old habits no longer serve us. What has made us great in the past, may now actually limit our potential in the future.

So if we can be brave enough to challenge our thinking, our historical (successful) practices and move past our own ego, we can open ourselves up to ways of working that lead to levels of success we would not have thought possible based on the past.

All that is needed is the personal commitment to growth. On both internal and external levels. (Oh, and a good trainer and coach… but that’s where we come in!)

It’s an evolution.

It’s a Breakthrough.

And it works.

If I had a pound for every sales person that has come to me and told me how changing their mindset, approach and ways of working has benefitted them, I’d be quite a rich woman. I’m proud that the work that we do, although not rooted in conventional sales training, enables people to tap into their full potential, limits their stress and helps them achieve results that they are not only proud of, but are recognised and rewarded for.

But the question is, how committed are you to going for growth?