Here are 6 key concepts for innovation in sales:

1. Do Whatever It Takes. We call this WIT, and top producers in sales understand that they really must do whatever it takes—assuming actions are ethical and legal, of course—to help their clients, sell the next deal, and attain their goals. What this really translates to is commitment: commitment to taking the time to think broadly when it comes to a prospect or an opportunity and doing what the other salespeople do not do. This might mean staying later at work to send a communication that includes helpful resources, or it might be calling a client to ask who they might know that would benefit from meeting with you. Bottom line, WIT translates to innovation in sales because your prospect or client benefits from your willingness to serve them to your fullest potential. How committed are you or your salespeople to doing whatever it takes for your prospects and clients?

2. Overcome Self-Limiting Beliefs. Napoleon Hill said, “Your only limitation is the one you set in your own mind!” This applies to everything in life and certainly impacts success in sales. High self-awareness is especially important for salespeople. Self-awareness helps you better understand the belief systems that you're consciously or unconsciously bringing into your sales calls. It also helps you understand how you might interpret a client's response to you. Here are some examples of self-limiting beliefs and more supportive beliefs: “Prospects are honest” vs. “I maintain healthy skepticism about what prospects tell me.” “Any lack of results is due to my competitors” vs. “Any lack of results is due to my own efforts.” We all have beliefs; however, being self-aware and analyzing what happens when these get in the way of a sale demonstrates innovation in sales.

3. Eliminate Non-Prospects from Pipeline. True or false: You or your salespeople have stuffed the pipeline with prospects that will not close, and you know it. There is safety in numbers, another saying, that when it comes to pipeline is unfortunately not true. Top salespeople are adept at fully qualifying their prospects along the process and eliminating them as soon as possible from their pipeline when they know that they are not qualified. In most cases, these salespeople have some mental or actual checklist they follow to understand if a prospect “fits” their criteria. Here is our Prospect Qualifying Scorecard that can help you and your salesperson make sure to eliminate non-prospects from the pipeline sooner rather than later.

4. Follow a Sales Process. The data is clear on this one: 93% of top producers follow a stage-based systematic sales process. Following a process keeps them from skipping a step in the buyer-seller journey. For example, do you or any of your salespeople skip too quickly from uncovering a problem/pain issue to providing a solution? This is a common example of not following a sales process because the salesperson has skipped over fully uncovering and understanding how painful the problem is, if the prospect has the time, money, and resources to fix the problem, what the decision-making process is, and if they are committed to fixing the problem. Following a consistent and systematic sales process is like following the instructions for assembling a piece of new equipment. It helps to ensure that it is constructed properly and will work! While sales processes themselves are not new, being adept at effectively executing a sales process truly is innovation in sales.

5. Prospect & Bring in New Business. This one is clear and short. Prospect every day. Find all potential avenues to reach prospects that fit your target. Innovation comes from the execution of this effort, as most do not execute on a daily basis. Prospecting for a salesperson must be Job #1.

6. Overcome Rejection. This is one of the most important findings from the sales evaluation that we utilize—the pioneer and leader in the industry, Objective Management Group. Here is a short description below:

   a. When this is a Weakness, an individual might feel hurt and hesitate for some period of time before reaching out to a prospect after being rejected.
   b. When this is a Strength, an individual might get back on another sales call immediately after being rejected without feeling hurt.

Elite salespeople are fast to get back on the wagon, and doing so helps them move on to the next, perhaps more positive experience, so that they do not dwell on the negative perspective of being rejected by a prospect. Top producers also take the time to analyze what happened and identify what went wrong in their process, enabling them to self-correct. In this area, innovation lies not in recognizing errors but in learning from them and applying those lessons to future opportunities.

Sales Prospecting Tips

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

1. Respond promptly: 63% of buyers expect a response to their inquiry the same day. (Training Industry)
2. Make the calls: Pick up the phone and call someone. Do it again and again, every day.
3. Leverage reviews: Ask for testimonials and introductions from top clients. According to Training Industry, 69% of small businesses rely on reviews first to select potential providers.
4. Stay committed: It takes 14 attempts to reach a contact, but most salespeople give up after 3-4 attempts. If you are simply more committed than the salesperson sitting next to you, you will see greater success.
5. Love the word ‘no’: Qualify prospects early to avoid wasted time.
6. Use tools: Scorecards can save time by identifying high-quality leads. Download our free Prospect Scorecard here.
7. Determine the decision-makers: Present only to those with the authority to say yes or no.
8. Qualify priorities: Always close the initial call with this question – “Is your problem just a problem, or is it a priority?” That will help you better qualify prospects.
9. Bridge the generation gap: Tailor your approach based on generational preferences—boomers value connection, Gen X appreciates efficiency, millennials expect transparency, and Gen Z thrives on authenticity and digital tools.

Sales Planning Tips

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

10. Create a work plan: Put your 2025 work plan (not business plan) in writing, sign and date it, make a copy for you and your manager, review it during each and every coaching session. We have a sales work plan template you can download, here.
11. Be consistent: Commit to measurable weekly activities for business growth.
12. Guard your time: Treat appointments with yourself as sacred.
13. Follow the process: Avoid rushing to close; qualify leads and understand their needs.

Selling Tips

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker

14. Be personal: Use technology, but don’t rely on automation.
15. Hold your value: Don’t sell off of price or discount. If you are selling a quality product, believe in the quality and don’t waver. Not every prospect is going to be a fit for your business and that’s okay. Go find more that do and don’t settle.
16. Focus on helping: Stop worrying about selling somebody something and start worrying about helping somebody. Simply have a goal of making somebody smarter for having met with you.  Try to find some way to help them.
17. Create urgency: Salespeople should have a reasonable sense of urgency around selling. Managers should create a reasonable sense of urgency with your salespeople/teams.
18. Consider these 3 non-offensive closing questions: Do you believe I fully understand the business challenges you have shared? Based on what I have shared with you, do you believe I can help you with these problems? Would you like my help?

Sales Mindset Tips

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” – Henry Ford

19. Pursue with purpose: Remember – your ability to pursue greatly exceeds the prospect’s ability to ignore.
20. Value time: There is no such thing as time management; time manages itself very well. Everyone gets 1,440 minutes each day no matter how great or how poor a time manager we are. Use it wisely.
21. Find your fuel: Discover your motivation and let it drive you.
22. Stay the course: If you aren’t willing to do whatever it takes to be successful, then you have what we call “conditional commitment.” Great salespeople are committed to doing what is required to be successful—even when the going gets tough.
23. Celebrate wins, and learn from every loss.
24. Be curious: Talk to your prospect like you are talking to your best friend or a family member. Have a conversation- ask questions, be inquisitive. Don’t let the pressure of selling something distract you.
25. Support your team: Encourage and support each other each and every single day.

Go write that first chapter of 2025 and make it an extraordinary year!

Author:
The Team at Anthony Cole Training Group

Perception

Over the last 30 years, I’ve observed that salespeople tend to categorize all sales calls based on their products or services:

• Lenders often start sales calls by discussing whether the client needs a loan or how they can access capital.
• Employee benefits consultants focus on improving coverage and pricing.
• Property and casualty agents zero in on risk vulnerabilities, assessments, and price.
• Investment advisors prioritize discussions about maximizing returns, minimizing taxes, or reducing financial risk.

These approaches stem from our perception of what the client wants or needs. This perception typically arises from two factors:

1. Years of experience in the business.
2. The prospect's initial words during the setup of the meeting.

However, this perception can be flawed for two reasons:

1. Years of experience don’t reflect the current reality.
   Golf provides a great analogy. Every round is different—weather, fairway conditions, green rolls, and pin placements constantly change. Similarly, sales situations are dynamic, and relying solely on past experiences can lead to missteps.
2. What the prospect tells you initially is rarely the whole truth.
   It’s not that they’re lying, but they often describe symptoms rather than the root problem. Or they may present a problem that’s a byproduct of a larger issue.

To overcome these limitations, we must broaden our thinking and question our initial perceptions. By doing so, we can better identify the actual problems we need to solve.

Consistency

Top-performing salespeople demonstrate the importance of consistency. Research shows that 80% of the top 25% of salespeople follow a consistent sales process. What does this entail?

• Milestone-centric processes: Their approach is systematic, ensuring each step leads to a decision. This eliminates indecision and delays.
• Documentation: They record what happens at each step to track progress and identify gaps.
• Data analysis: They evaluate data to pinpoint choke points that hinder faster, higher-margin sales.
• Modeling success: They use data to replicate success consistently.

This mirrors the habits of a good golfer. Great golfers approach each shot systematically: they position their hands consistently, align correctly for putts, and maintain focus. Their methodical approach leads to lower scores and better performance compared to inconsistent players like me.

Commitment Matters

I’d love to improve my golf game, but I know it takes a deeper commitment than what I’m currently giving. Similarly, if you’re looking to improve your approach to selling—selling more, faster, and at better margins—it might be worth reflecting on how your level of commitment aligns with your goals.

Read & Share our Top 25 Sales Tips of 2025

But keep in mind this one very important idea – your sales goal plan has to be tied to YOUR personal goals. It must be a number or objective driven by your needs and not the needs of the company. For example, maybe you want to pay off your credit card debt, a significant portion of the mortgage on that new house you bought, or pay for an upcoming vacation in full. When your work plan is directly tied to one of your personal motivators and objectives, you are much more likely to see the success you want.

Get started by downloading our Personal & Business Workplan template!

The Manager’s Role in Sales Goal Planning

When asked, most sales managers say that one of their greatest challenges is their ability to motivate their salespeople. If a sales manager can figure out what makes their team “tick,” they can better help them hit their goal numbers. Motivation seems like hard work because salespeople often value different things. There are, however, several steps a sales manager can take to establish a motivating environment.

The first step is to recognize that motivation is an “inside-out job.” When the topic of motivation is discussed, we typically think about incentive compensation, sales contests, and recognition programs. All of these certainly encourage your sales teams to focus on generating new business because these are rewards. However, you will gain true engagement and enthusiasm if you create an everyday environment that encourages each individual to identify and visualize their own internal motivation.

Do you remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs pyramid? The bottom two tiers, Physiological and Safety, are the most basic needs of every individual. This same concept holds true for new salespeople. Hopefully, they will make their way up to self-actualization at some point, but they must first have income for food, shelter, safety, etc. Only once they realize they have attained all of these basic necessities and have established a cushion, can they turn attention to the higher tiers of Self-Actualization and the bigger dreams and goals to which they might aspire.

To put it another way, salespeople do not care about corporate shareholder value unless they are shareholders themselves. What they care about is food, shelter, clothing, recognition, paying for a college education or a wedding, buying a vacation home, etc. These are personal desires and make up the vast majority of things that are important to people. So, the solution is to create an environment where this internal motivation can take place. Refer to The Dream Manager by Michael Kelly for more insights.

This means that it is up to you to help your salespeople identify what is important to them. Make the effort to set up time off-site that is dedicated to planning and spend time developing each individual’s dreams and sales goal plan. This is time that you and they will spend ON your business instead of in it. Take a day or two that will help you and your team take a giant step forward to plan for the future.

Create a process where people can establish personal goals because this is where true motivation, passion, and desire are born. Hence, it is from this process that each salesperson’s business plan must evolve.

Create an environment where people get a chance to unplug, sit down, and outline their goals and dreams; a time when both of you can establish timeframes and attach financial values to these items. Once you have attached financial values, you will know what level of prospecting and selling activity is necessary for each salesperson.

Reward yourself and your people when they have a success. As your people go through this process and identify their sales goal plan; as you sit down, and establish your own personal goals, be sure to specify how you will reward yourself and your people as each of you achieve these goals. Make sure that you take time to find and celebrate the joy of this wonderful world of selling and helping customers make sound decisions, as that might just be the most rewarding goal of all.

Don’t wait to get started—download our Personal & Business Workplan template!

Top Sales Management Content of 2024: 

From Tony's Blog

Gain leadership insights and strategies for driving sales team success with these management-focused articles.

1. Leading a Sales Team: 10 Keys to Success (Part 1)
2. 7 Steps to Improve Your Outbound Sales Strategy
3. Leading a Sales Team: 10 Keys to Success (Part 2)
4. Using Sales Enablement Tools and Technology to Add Value to Relationships
5. Sales Prospecting Tactics

Top Sales Training Content of 2024: 

From our Sales Brew

Share these links with your team to help them enhance their sales skills with expert tips and actionable strategies from top-performing salespeople.

1. 24 Sales Tips for 2024 – From Our Sales Experts
2. The Most Common Sales Objections | Part 1
3. 5 Habits of the Best Salespeople
4. 5 Tips for Asking Your Prospect Better Questions
5. The Importance of a Quarterly Review

Top Sales Videos of 2024:

Watch these engaging videos from our sales experts to learn practical sales techniques that close deals and build relationships. Subtitles included!

1. The Most Common Sales Objections | Part 1
2. Conversations to Avoid on the Initial Sales Call
3. The Most Common Sales Objections | Part 2
4. Referral-Based Selling: How to Ask
5. The Art of Closing a Sale

Top Free Resources of 2024:

We work hard to provide a large amount free resources for sales execs and salespeople. See our most popular resources of 2024 below! 

1. eBook: Better than the Best Prospecting Book Ever Written
2. eBook: Achieve Sales Team Excellence
3. Recorded Webinar: Cultivate Profitable Customers using Sales Technology
4. Weekly Email Subscription: Sales Brew
5. Worksheet: Personal & Business Work Plan

Thank you for being a part of our community in 2024. We’re excited to continue providing quality sales training and management content to help you grow your business in 2025. Here's to another year of growth and success!