Karma For Karma’s Sake
Recently (like right this second) I’ve been experiencing some strongly tied karmic moments. You likely know what Karma is. It’s energy, vibe, voodoo, mojo, juice-call it what you want, I believe in it and as a professional sales person, you should too.
Blaise Pascal said:
“If you believe in God and God does not exist, little harm is done. If you don’t believe in God and God does exist, much harm is done.”
This was the quote that sold my highly logical “prove it to me” male brain on the belief in Karma. You KNOW you’ve had it happen to you. Think of a song you haven’t heard since sixth grade and two days later it plays on Pandora. Think of a person you haven’t seen in two years and you randomly run into them in a coffee shop you seldom go to. (Both things that happened to me in the last 2 months.)
Here are some very simple Karmic behaviors that I have found to pay huge dividends in the world of sales:
1. ALWAYS LOOK TO CONNECT OTHER PEOPLE.
The more you connect others, the more positive outcomes you have a hand in, and the more opportunity will find you. You should make at least one connection a week minimum.
Why Saying “It’s Really All About Price” Is Career Suicide For Any Salesperson
Logic is your enemy here. Think how many times you say or think, “This deal is all about price.”
Every time you say that, think that and believe that you endorse the idea that having a sales person involved in a deal adds absolutely NO value.
The more you convince yourself of this idea (and tell your sales manager or CEO), the more they should be thinking of firing the sales staff and hiring customer service reps at $15/hour to take orders from their online catalog.
When it’s all about price, it ain’t about you. Low price = no need for sales people.
Proceed with caution.
Get Lucky
The ability for a sales person to create their own luck has never been better.
The problem: old school thought and behavior won’t give you the same chance to get. You create luck by being active in social media. Creating expert content in your field and distributing your knowledge as a service to your prospects. The more you’re OUT there, the more luck you’ll create…..or you can just keep making cold calls and handing out brochures.
The Four Most Annoying Habits of Salespeople
Below is a list of habits millions of sales people do that annoy the hell out of most other human beings. If you partake in any of these, please stop. If you don’t, let’s keep it that way.
1. YOU TALK TOO MUCH AND DON’T THINK YOU DO.
In the movie When Harry Met Sally, Harry Burns said to Sally Albright, “You’re the worst kind; you’re high maintenance but you think you’re low maintenance.” I can’t tell you how many new clients have talked for 20 straight minutes on the importance of being a good listener.
My advice: Be quiet. Be quiet. Be quiet.
2. OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC.
Here’s a conversation at national sales meeting between two territory managers who haven’t seen each other in a while:
- “Bobby Z whasssup dog? Still killin’ it in Hotlanta?”
- “Dude we killed it this year, up 28%! How are things on the left coast?”
- “Same bro numbers this morning had us up 32″
- “…Great! Fantastic! I’m finer than a frogs hair split three ways!”
My advice: You annoy the hell out of people if your energy is too high. Relax bro. Watch the two bulls on a hill story in the movie Colors with Sean Penn…just walk down.
The Bitch is Back
I think God created a “bitching” gene and implanted it in 9 out of 10 Americans. Salespeople are unfortunately notorious bitchers. They complain about their territory, their managers, their compensation plan, and their expense policy. I believe in Karma and I think too much bitching costs people money, relationships and good fortune. Next time you feel the need to lambaste your idiot manager do us and YOU a favor and keep it to yourself.
“WHOOOOO ARE YOU?” –P. Townsend
In this obvious time of reflection prior to heading into a new year, I thought it would be helpful to give you some questions to ask yourself.
- Why am I doing what I do for a living?
- What do I REALLY want to do day after day after day?
- What makes me deliriously happy?
- What do I loathe?
- What am I most afraid of?
- What is my most limiting belief?
- What would happen if I took a risk beyond my current comprehension?
- What thoughts do I have that limit my performance?
- What mask do I wear and why?
- Whom do I know that can mentor me/help me?
- What knowledge do I have that others would love to know?
- Whom do admire? Why?
- What behaviors am I most proud of/best at?
- What behaviors am I least proud/worst at?
- When is this blog post going to end?
Now…use this as a free-flow thought provoker as you travel from place to place and mentally prepare for next year.
Cheers!
One
It’s the loneliest number and also the spot you likely want to hold on the sales results chart. Being number one is easy. Most average performers justify why they’re NOT number one, “Well hell, Tom’s got the best territory. No wonder he’s number one.” Being number one is 85% mental and 15% skill. You’ll never be number one until you surrender to this truth. Today would be a good day to surrender.
