Mike Jones

Around this time of year, just about everyone is talking about brackets. It’s NCAA Basketball time, and March Madness is in full swing. Brackets are everywhere… online, hanging on refrigerators, posted on bulletin boards – you name it. But, did you know there’s a much more important bracket when it comes to sales?

Most people have one thing in common: the desire to “do better.” Of course, “doing better” means different things to different people. For some salespeople, it means closing more sales. For others, it means closing bigger sales. And there are salespeople for whom it means working less hard…or simply working less. What does it mean for you?

Holding salespeople accountable: This is one of the major challenges of managing a sales team – regardless of whether it’s a traditional team where people show up for work at a central physical location, or a team working remotely, or a team at a call center.

We hear about malpractice all the time: “Dr. So-and-so was charged with medical malpractice.” And, to be honest, I’ve never thought of malpractice outside of the medical industry. I’m guessing you haven’t either. But, I’d be willing to bet you’re guilty of committing malpractice yourself…SALES MALPRACTICE!

Most salespeople who need to prospect for a living will tell you that it’s a very proactive, immediate results-driven exercise that can be uncomfortable at times. Hard to disagree with that. This is a topic that we get involved with far too often as it’s a common point of frustration for many business owners and sales leaders regarding their selling culture.

Read Time: 5 Minutes

Think of the last time you felt like you were missing out on something. Maybe you couldn’t get a ticket to the best concert of the year. Maybe you saw all your friends tagged in a photo on Facebook and you weren’t there. Or maybe your neighbor joined an exclusive group for members only.

Ever struggle with self-confidence? Ever have a moment (or several moments) of self-doubt? Ever feel like maybe you’re not cut out for sales? We all have those thoughts from time to time, and these self-limiting beliefs have the potential to crush us if we let them. Here’s how these beliefs can sound…

Step 1- Have a goal. Sounds silly, but most people do not have a clearly defined objective for what they want to accomplish.

If you could boil down sales success to just one thing, what would it be?

In Sandler, we often refer to “having the cure for my industry’s cancer.” In other words, my product or service is here to save the day. If I walk into a prospect’s office, and I hold the key to his or her success, I’m going to let them know about it. I’m going to be confident in the results it brings or the money it saves or the help it provides.