Sales Blog for Sales and Sales Management

All salespeople should read all of the time.  Reading keeps you sharp and helps you either confirm your thoughts and believes or helps you change them.  As a sales and sales management consultant, I am constantly reading so that I can provide fresh information, perspectives and insights to the art and science of sales and selling.  The people on our staff at Anthony Cole Training group are constantly reading and we provide a recommended reading list on our site:  www.anthonycoletraining.com

And so it is, I've read another tidbit from my wife's book:  The Big Questions.  Here is the excerpt I want to share with you today:

"If you want to know your past life, look into your present condition;  if you want to know your future life, look at your present action."  

Simply put:

1. The sales results you have today are a result of what you've done during your sales cycle.  If you have a 90 day sales cycle, then the activity you did 90 days ago is providing your current results.
2. Likewise the sales activity you are doing today will dictate your future results (90 days from now).
3. If you want to figure out how you got your current results, you MUST track the sales (Objective Management Sales Track) activity and the critical ratios of conversion from one step in your sales process to the next.
4. If you want to predict your future success, you MUST be collecting data today on your sales activity and take the time to gain insight as to your effectiveness and productivity so that you can plan to succeed (Verne Harnish One Page Business Planner)http://www.gazelles.com/strategic_planning.html.

This is not the sales managers job, though a great sales manager would have the systems and processes in place to help you do this as a sales person. As a professional, this is your responsibility.  If you want better results take hold of the steering wheel that is your current sales activity and point your sales vehicle in the right direction at the right speed.