Diamond Author
Some say the road to Hades is paved or littered with good intentions. I always thought that to be true because there was no predetermined destination. With so many in selling not achieving their sales quotas according to a CSO Insight survey in early 2010, this old adage appears to still be true.
In the sales process, many marketing and selling actions are the result of good intentions. However they fail to deliver the desired results of more customers and increase sales. This outcome can be changed when goals are part of the overall sales process. Sales Training Coaching Tip: If you have not followed up on all sales leads but you want to this is an example of having good intentions while traveling the road to Hades.
In June of 2010 I received a notice from Sylvia Rosen of the Buyer Zone that my relatively new sales blog (established in February 2010) has been included in the 20 great sales blogs. What an honor and it is very much appreciated for these three reasons:
Reason #1: Outside acknowledgment validates the quality of your writing and thinking efforts
Everyone likes to be acknowledged for a job well done. When this recognition comes from a totally unbiased and unexpected source, it has even more meaning.
Reason #2: Goal setting and achievement works when written, aligned and yours
I have always been a big believer in SMART goals. As I grew older I revised the goal achievement criteria from SMART goals to WAY SMART goals. Over the course of time, my personal action plan became more standardized and was then put onto one format for easier review. Transitioning into my consulting and sales coaching practice, I then created a series of one-page action plans beginning with an overall business action plan. Sales Training Coaching Tip: W is for Written; A is for Aligned and Y is for Yours.
Reason #3: Intentional thoughts (positive thinking) are necessary for success
Henry Ford I believe said it best "Whether you think you can or you think you cannot, either way you are right." Positive intentional thoughts must be present if you truly want the sales success you deserve in sales. One of my colleagues, Laura Novakowski of Positive Power Strategies, Inc. is writing a series of articles on this very subject in her blog.
When I began my sales blog, I committed these goals to writing:
- Increase traffic by at least 20% over the previous year. This goal has been achieved every month since the debut of my blog.
- Achieve an Alexa ranking of under 300,000 by September of 2010. This happened in May 19, 2010. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Alexa.com is a trending tool as is Compete.com
- Achieve 150 unique visitors per day by September of 2010 (currently at 130 unique visitors per day)
- Achieve Alexa ranking of under 200,000 by December 31, 2010
- Achieve 500 unique visitors per day by December 31, 2010
- Achieve Alexa ranking of under 100,000 by December 31, 2011
- Achieve 1,000 unique visitors per day by December 31, 2011
In late April of 2010, I added another target and that was to be included in the top 100 sales blogs by 12/31/2010. Recently due to the achievement of some of the above goals, I just added this goal, secure $1,000 in passive income by 12/31/2010. To achieve this new objective means including some relevant advertisements be them Google Adwords or from other sources such as Reach Sales.
From these written statements, my thoughts are very intentional and directed to achieving these desired results. My belief right or wrong is if I had not committed these dreams to writing, my thoughts would not be as clear and clarity of thought is required unless you like selling or living in a fog. Sales Training Coaching Tip: Louie Armstrong is quoted as saying: "Goals are dreams with endings."
There is tremendous power for any one in sales who combines intentional thoughts with WAY SMART goals. Just make sure you keep track of all those targets achieved so when you hit a bump in the road your thoughts will stay incredibly intentional.
About this Author
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Executive sales coach and consultant, Leanne Hoagland-Smith partners with innovative leaders who want to dramatically improve teams' results. Call 219.759.5601 CDT USA to just have a conversation about the results you are seeking.
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