Ecclesiastes 8:15 

I commend joy, for man has no good thing under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun.

Christian Based Selling

As professional sales people we accept that our job is not 8 to 5.  We often work evenings and weekends to catch up on administrative tasks, think through deals and write proposals etc.  However, we need to reserve time to do the things we enjoy in life and share experiences with our friends and family.

What are your plans to recharge your batteries this weekend?    

Galatians 6:9

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Christian Based Selling:

​As professional sales people we must never tire of planting the seeds of opportunity through our prospecting efforts.  Beyond the rare exception, we cannot expect an immediate harvest because there is typically a period of months between sowing and reaping.   We must maintain  our belief that abundant fruit will yield from our good works of prospecting.

We cannot become impatient and attempt to harvest our   opportunities too soon because we risk damaging the crop.   We need to cultivate our pipeline with consistent follow up and strong qualifying to know when a deal has sprouted.   Over time we will build an expansive field of opportunity from which we can continually harvest.  

Commit yourself to daily prospecting.    Schedule it at opportune times during the day.  Create a call list of primary targets with prep notes so your prospecting time is spent dialing the phone.   Prioritize  prospecting time over other to-do's.   Only cancel for high priority demands such as proposals or internal pursuit team prep.  

How many hours a week do you spend prospecting?  Is it enough?  How healthy is your pipeline? 
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Ecclesiastes 10:10 

If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength, but wisdom helps one to succeed.

Christian Based Selling:

As professional sales people, we need to be knowledgeable about our own business, the prospective client's industry, macro business trends as well as sales process and  marketing techniques such as social media strategies.  

We have all heard the phrase work smarter not harder.  We need to self-assess our knowledge gaps and actively seek to fill these so we can be more effective in our work.   The worst thing that can happen to us is to do all the hard work to schedule an important meeting and then lack the necessary knowledge to be at our best at leading our team in front of the client.  Each new potential client warrants a deep dive into their website and a marketplace analysis of their competitors, trends and industry news.  

Is there more you can learn about your solution?  Are you reading the latest thinking on selling?  Is there a particular area of selling in which you struggle?   

Let's do our homework so we can enjoy greater success!  ​

Mark 9:23 

And Jesus said to him, “‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.”

Christian Based Selling

Yesterday we examined the importance of calling on the Lord for strength and hope.  We cannot allow the fear of failure to influence our communications, behaviors or decisions.  In Mark 9:23 we see that all things are possible for one who believes.  

We need to do our work to identify and qualify opportunities to focus our time and energy on the deals we can win.  For those opportunities we need to believe that we will win the business.  When we believe in our ability to win we (everyone on the pursuit team) puts in the required time and effort to develop a winning proposal and prepare for the orals presentation.  

While all this work is critical to win  the deal it is equally important that our team demonstrate to the prospective client that we expect to win.  The prospective can feel our conviction and trusts that we will deliver on their needs.  We must justify our viability with our credentials but understand that the vendor selection decision will be driven by emotion.      

Are you focusing on the right opportunities?  Are you making sure all members of your pursuit team are properly prepped?  Are you sharing your passion and conviction with your prospective clients?