I have often wondered how two sales representatives selling exactly the same product, in the same market, with the same price and the same features, can come up with extremely different results. This might be because of differences in selling techniques and levels of knowledge but to be honest, I believe it is mostly because of differences in the attitudes of these sales representatives.
A little boy fixing the globe
A dad came home after a long day at work and was going to spend the evening with his young son. The dad was tired and wanted to relax by reading a newspaper. His son was full of energy, asking the father to play with him. The dad didn't really have the energy for that but the son kept asking his father to join his play. This continued for a while.
Suddenly the dad noticed a picture of a globe in the newspaper. He ripped it off, sliced it in small pieces and threw the pieces to his son. The dad asked the son to fix the broken globe and promised to play with him after the job was done. The son agreed.
It took less than two minutes and the boy had fixed the globe. The dad was amazed by that and asked how his son fixed it so fast. The son replied that it was easy because there was a picture of a face on the other side of the torn paper. The son told that it was quite easy to fix the face and by doing that the globe got also fixed.
This story teaches us a lesson that success is born within. We often dwell on fears, doubts and sorrows that make the world around us broken. When we manage to fix our own mind, the world around us will be miraculously fixed as well.
”Selling is essentially a transfer of feelings”
- Zig Ziglar
5 Tips for Getting Better Results
Improving your sales results starts from improving your attitude. When you feel energetic and enthusiastic, making sales is much easier. Here are the top 5 tips that have helped me the most during my sales career:
1. Be thankful for everything you have
Go through reasons for being thankful every night just before going to bed. Do the same thing right after waking up in the morning. By focusing your mind on reasons to be thankful has a big impact on your state of mind for the whole day.
2. Write down your personal goals
Only 2% of all people write down their personal goals. It feels weird that the number is so small because there are so many studies and articles about how important goal setting is. Make your goals specific and write them as if you have already achieved them. Set a deadline for each goal and prioritize them. I also want to encourage you to read through them every morning and evening. That’s how they stay bright and clear on top of your mind.
3. Write down reasons for achieving your goals
The stronger the personal reasons for achieving your goals are, the more likely it is for you to obtain them. When you have strong enough reasons to achieve your goals, you won’t give up after the first setback. Keep in mind that a person is willing to do much more for other people than for themselves.
4. Build good habits
There is a saying: ”A man is a victim of his habits”. This means that our habits have a huge impact on the outcomes we attain. Think about yourself for a second. Lets say that you have developed a habit of going for a 7 mile run four times a week. With this habit you are more likely to remain in a good physical condition. Think about your goals and figure out what kind of habits would help you the most to achieve them.
5. Pedal to the medal!
When I started my career at ZEF, our former Sales Director Matti Nevala gave me this advice:
”When you work really hard in sales, it becomes the easiest job in the world, but if you work easy in sales it becomes the hardest job in the world.”
I took his word seriously and I soon noticed that he was right. I have continued following the same principle in what ever I'm doing in my life. And I feel energetic and enthusiastic, every day.
- Tuomas Haapsaari, CMO
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