Have you ever stayed with a stalled prospect too long?
- What's the difference between "smart work" and "hard work"?
- The "all-or-nothing" mentality.
- Are you trying to make a point?
Ronald Reagan once said, "It's true that hard work never killed anyone - but I figure, why take the chance?"
There seems to be a belief that the harder you work, the more you are likely to accomplish. Certainly, persistence and hard work do pay off in some endeavors: World class athletes, for instance, don't become "world class" overnight. Persistence and hard work is integral to their plan. But, their training regimen is smart. They know their limits, they focus their efforts, and they pace themselves. They don't overexert or take shortcuts in an effort to speed up the process.
Are you working smart?
Working smart in the sales arena means using an efficient system to identify, qualify, and develop selling opportunities. The system should revolve around specific criteria that must be met at various stages in order to keep the process moving toward a completed sale. If the criteria can't be met, it's time to abandon the opportunity and pursue another one that is more viable.
Continuing to pursue an opportunity that has stalled - perhaps because you've already invested so much time in it, or because you're out to prove something to someone - is not a productive use of your time. That's working hard. But it definitely isn't working smart. (See also Rule #30: You Can't Lose Anything You Don't Have.)
Consider the case of the salesperson who is fixated on the "big deal." Sometimes that stubborn approach leads to a lot of hard work over a period of months (or years!) and a "no" answer...when a little smart work could lead to a "yes" answer in the short term that gets your foot in the door.
It doesn't have to be all or nothing
If you ever watched a cruise ship come into dock you might have noticed the huge heavy ropes that tie the ship to the dock. How do they get those ropes from the bow of the ship - about ten stories high - to the pier? They use what's called a Monkey's Paw - a small ball tied to a small diameter line, tied to the big rope. A member of the ship's crew throws the ball to the dockhand on the pier, and the dockhand pulls the ball, the small line, and the heavy rope to the dock!
What has that go to do with sales? Well, if you sell a big-ticket item, it might be difficult for your prospect to make an all-or-nothing decision in favor of a new supplier. But what if you were to break up the sale into smaller pieces?
For instance, could you sell a research project, or a study? Is there a one-day consulting project you could do? Is there a thirty-day trial you could sell? Ask yourself what you could sell that is smaller in scope, cost, or perceived risk. Your prospect may not be ready to commit to the large sale, but may be ready to take an initial smaller commitment. The strategy takes your client "off the street" and lowers the buyer-seller wall.
So throw out a Monkey's Paw. Get a little piece of the action and then help yourself to more of it, a little at a time.
Don't set traps for yourself!
There are many ways that salespeople cheat themselves out of income by working hard - when they cold be working smart. Often, the hard work they perform is the result of some kind of trap they've set for themselves.
Is your hard work connected to making some kind of abstract point about (for instance) whether or not the world is "fair?" Is your hard work connected to earning approval from someone? (A prospect? Your boss? Your family members?) Watch out for these traps! The most effective professional salespeople learn to step around them.
