The Importance of Self-Inspection
"If you feel unhappy with your results, you have only to look in the mirror to stare the culprit straight in the eye."
Ouch!! What a way to start a Monday morning.
All too often, I see salespeople waiting for someone else to check, analyze, review or inspect their work. What’s this all about? Do you really need someone else to watch over you to inform you that your pipeline is more like a pipe dream; or your forecast is more like a wish list; or your call preparation is, well, don’t even get me started?
Today, Monday, every football player will be reviewing "game films." They will be self-inspecting every play, every failure and every success for the sole purpose of recognizing and making adjustments to improve their actions for next week's game.
Unfortunately, too many salespeople put off self-inspection until it is too late. Conversely, looking at oneself as a regular practice is healthy and profitable. Being honest with yourself builds up your self-confidence, your self-respect and the esteem of others have for you.
Here are Three Self-Inspection Points to get you started:
- Pipeline
Litmus Test: Are you investing time on engaged opportunities or random targets? Are you advancing opportunities through your pipeline to satisfy a KPI or are you completing the tasks required to move the opportunity through the "gate" to the next stage? Have you offered a proposal prior to even attempting a discovery assessment?
- Forecast
Litmus Test: Do you fully understand the client's decision criteria or do you just think this will close in October? Have you met the Key Decision maker? Are you feeling confident because a non-influencer is friendly and spending time with you? Will the client's decision not to move forward this month, negatively impact their business? Do you understand the client's decision process, ie. the Business Manger investigates and reports; the CFO analyzes and recommends; the CEO approves and signs?
- Call Preparation
Litmus Test: Do you have a structured call planning process? Have you fully researched the company and the person(s) you will be meeting? Do you have valid business reason to request the clients’ time to meet with you? Are you prepared with specific questions to help you uncover your real opportunity? Have you thought about what objections may come up and are you prepared to handle those objections?
I imagine by now that you get my point. Every sports professional has a role and that role is designed for optimal performance. You are a sales professional. Sure, you have a manager, a coach, a mentor but, you know your role and it’s only you who can achieve your overall goal of WINNING.
At Butler Street we use and we teach a structured, repeatable sales process and sales methodologies. Our Sales Effectiveness program helps build better salespeople and better coaches by reinforcing the six key skills necessary to drive sales discipline and improve your results.
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Frank Costantino is a Managing Partner at Butler Street, a leading management consulting, training and research firm that focuses on client and talent development. Prior to joining Butler Street, Costantino accumulated over three decades of successful sales and executive leadership experience. His passion for sales discipline and process has driven practical solutions for sales organization development, revenue and operating profit growth.
Costantino has been recognized with numerous sales and sales leadership awards. He has also received top honors from his peers and direct reporting teams in VOA rankings, and has also served on the Advisory Board of Target Account Selling. He holds a B. S. in Business Management from NYIT.
