What will make 2009 a different sales year than 2008?

I was talking with some clients earlier this week. They wanted to know what they need to do to make 2009 the best year ever. As we discussed what needed to happen one of the senior managers said, “We have had this conversation every year and we say the same thing. WHAT IS GOING TO MAKE 2009 DIFFERENT?” What a great observation and question. You see everyone is looking for the secret sauce for exceptional growth. It is typical that companies try to fill in the missing pieces with training in sales, presentation, negotiations, improved sales process, CRM, new marketing approaches, new brochures and a whole bunch of other things yet nothing changes. What my client realized, is the piece that nobody likes to look at.

It is not about what you know it is about WHAT YOU DO! You see the majority of salespeople and sales organizations fail to do enough of the proper sales activity. It doesn’t matter if you have additional skills training, a more effective sales process or new marketing materials if you aren’t talking with the right kind of prospects! It doesn’t matter if you sell face to face or over the phone… proper activity makes all the difference in the world! I say it is like having a health club membership but never taking your expanding buttocks to the club. You have the knowledge to eat better and you know you need to exercise but the action or activity to actually go to the club 3 times a week is lacking. Now if you really want great results then you would exercise a little longer per session or go 4-6 times a week. Exercise and sales activity are very similar…bottom line is low activity gets low results and high activity gets high results. Professional athletes and professional salespeople both know this is absolutely true. So the honest question to ask yourself is…are you doing enough of the right kinds of activity on a daily basis?