Productivity You've likely heard it said: “sales is the lifeblood of a company." If you are interested in sales improvement, the question to answer is: "What is the lifeblood of sales?" The answer comes down to one thing, and that one thing is the most misunderstood requirement for success, or greater success: productivity. Productivity is often confused with activity or preparation to be productive. Actual productivity means: qualified accomplishment, or, the standard of acc

Somewhere along the way, the expression "sales is just a numbers game" stuck as the long and the short of the sales profession. Instead, however, of being a pithy summation of the profession, the numbers game notion reflects a gross and prevalent misconception of sales among its professionals (at least those who subscribe to the numbers game idea). Commonly, sales professionals understand “numbers” as a charge to sustain or increase sales activity. The idea is elementary: ou

If you are unaware of how you could fail, you cannot be fully prepared to succeed If you have a goal or vision that is important to you, then knowing your why—the reason or purpose to pursue your goal—is already clear to you. In order to make your best effort to succeed at your endeavor, it may be imperative for you to identify, plan, and prepare according to your why-NOT, the reasons why you could fail to reach your goal. Since success necessarily involves a chance for failu

Sales professionals are among business owners’ greatest assets. These talented and tenacious individuals manage and advance the frontline of the businesses they serve. Their work is vital to the success of sales goals and company profitability. While there are several types of salespeople, there are only two tiers of competency classification: the sales professional and the sales representative. Understanding the difference between these groups is important for business owner

Do your efforts to improve efficiency end up costing you sales? The value of efficiency is not merely to expedite work, but, more importantly, to improve profit from work. Efficiency is only valuable if it doesn't impede effectiveness, as it often does in sales organizations. In an effort to increase profit, some companies make the mistake of trying to improve efficiency. That is, it is a mistake to focus on efficiency if there are problems in your ability to be effective. Do