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Practice What You Preach
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In my "Continuous Improvement" tip from August 24, I discussed the idea of constantly asking yourself, "What stupid thing did I do last week?" The idea was to search for things you can improve, so you can build momentum in the right direction.
One subscriber pointed out that a more positive approach might be appropriate – meaning that you could ask something like, "What did I do last week on which I could improve this week?"
While I certainly understand the difference between having a negative vs. positive internal voice, I prefer to face the brutal realities, because it is more effective for me.
Regardless of which language you choose, to improve your future, just examine your past, as I will for this week's tip.
A little over a week ago, I was contacted through e-mail by the president of a company in California (I'll call him "Joe") – his firm basically sells insurance (although the way it sells is rather unique). Joe and I subsequently traded a few e-mail messages and agreed that we should have a one-hour phone call to determine whether I could help him accomplish his company's sales objectives.
We set up the call for a couple of days later, which is when I made my first blunder – I didn't ask Joe, "After we talk, if it looks like I can help you accomplish the objectives you want, what will you do?"
In a disqualification model of selling, you never make commitments to spend your time or energy without a commitment for something in return. Any answer indicating that Joe would hire me or move forward in the sales process would have been enough for me to keep the appointment. But since I never asked the question, Joe had made no commitment to me whatsoever – leaving me much more likely to waste my time.
My next mistake was to allow client work to get in the way of my commitment to Joe – I didn't prepare for the sales call. As a result, when Joe and I spoke, I didn't know enough about his business to ask the right questions.
Despite these two errors, when I finished the sales call with Joe, it looked like we had a reason to do business. So, when he asked me for references, I didn't hesitate to promise them. The problem is, I repeated my original mistake yet again, failing to ask Joe, "If my references check out, what will you do?"
Does anyone wonder why Joe has yet to return two follow-up phone calls and a follow-up e-mail I sent during the ensuing week? (I wouldn't have called me back either.)
So, my tip to you this week is: Practice what you preach. The ethics you uphold (and the time you save) will be your own.
Good luck solving your sales puzzles!
Gill
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