Years ago, a client told me his best salesperson simply worked the phone more often and more consistently than anyone else. “He makes 200 calls a day,” John said.
John added that the salesperson was incredibly resilient and didn’t take rejection personally. “He keeps smiling and dialing.” That phrase stuck with me – I had heard it before but never so closely aligned with sales success. It’s a reminder of the hard work that goes into hitting great sales numbers.
Easy sales are just that – easy. Thanks to stellar marketing, great advertising, good top-of-mind brand awareness, and a product/service mix that customers want, when times are good, sales opportunities call you. People walk in the door ready to buy. That’s fantastic, but it can breed complacency and make it easy to set aside your sales process. Then, when things slow down, the sales team – or even the entire organization – isn’t prepared.
Generating leads and sales opportunities takes work. It’s boring work with a lot of repetition and rejection.
Picking up the phone and making calls is harder than sending emails, but it’s more effective.
Working on your scripts and role-playing with the team is hard, but it’s more effective than winging it or assuming you’ll know what to say in the moment.
Tracking every contact is boring. Phoning every “no” two weeks later full of rejection and following up with “think it over” prospects who are ghosting you gets frustrating.
However, these are the things winning salespeople do every day, in good times and bad. They put in the effort, work their system, and deliver results. If sales are lagging, take a look at your team (and in the mirror). Is everyone smiling and dialing?
