“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” – Zig Ziglar
Sales is all about taking action and accepting the challenge. If a sales team doesn’t take action and sit and wait for the phone to ring or for emails to pour in, nothing is going to happen. Sales will dry up and the business will fail. Taking action is crucial to achieving sales greatness. It’s all about taking that first step. It might be the hardest, but it may end up being the most rewarding.
WHY IS TAKING ACTION IMPORTANT?
Taking action is about more than just picking up the phone. Here’s a look at why taking action is so crucial to achieving sales goals:
Achieve goals
Arguably the number one reason why taking action is so important is that it allows you to achieve your goals. Since sales is usually tied to revenue targets, achieving sales goals is critical for the survival of a business. But if you want to achieve them, you need to take action. Every step you actively take brings you closer to achieving your targets, and towards business success. This is even more important for sales leaders, as team members are likely to follow when they see the team leader take action.
Personal growth
A key component of job satisfaction is personal growth. If team members feel like they’re growing then they will be more motivated and more productive. Taking action allows people to learn new skills and develop their sales abilities, it’s a chance for them to challenge themselves and grow in the process, both personally and professionally. Taking action means constantly putting themselves out there, taking calculated risks, and setting lofty, yet achievable goals.
Create change in your life
Taking action can also help to create a positive change in your life. It’s simple; if you want to improve your current situation, you’ve got to take action. Taking action towards change can be anything from thinking of different ways to approach clients, developing more streamlined processes or even just asking for advice or guidance from your team lead or mentor.
Overcome fear
Fear is a natural human emotion, it’s normal and even the most experienced and successful salespeople experience fear at some point. This can include things like fear of rejection, fear of failure, or even fear of success. Fear is a big reason why many people aren’t successful. The antidote to fear is confidence and one of the best ways to build confidence is to take action. By taking action you not only gain confidence but also build resilience, learn from your mistakes and ultimately achieve success.
Build & maintain momentum
Building and keeping momentum is crucial in sales. It can help you to qualify more leads, achieve your goals, and create a continuous cycle of success. Momentum can also boost your confidence. But building and maintaining momentum takes consistent and regular action. Remember, it’s easier to maintain a relationship than build a new one.
Overcome procrastination
Procrastination is one of sales’ biggest enemies and can lead to lost sales, missed opportunities, and a decrease in revenue. It is very common among sales professionals of all experience levels and often causes stress and anxiety that reduces sales performance even further. The only cure for procrastination is taking action, and taking it regularly. The more often you take action, the easier it gets to keep procrastination at bay.
Taking action creates purpose
Focused, motivated, and purpose-driven sales teams are critical to the success of any business, especially when faced with setbacks and challenges. Taking action can help you to create a sense of purpose and direction. It is the spark that ignites the fire of motivation and focus that you need to reach your goals and objectives.
TOP TIPS TO TAKE ACTION
Taking action is important if you want you and your sales team to excel, and your business to prosper. But taking action can often be daunting with fear, doubt, and insecurity holding many people back. Here’s a look at things you can do to help you spring into action and onto the road to success.
Set Specific and Measurable Goals
Taking action can help you to achieve your goals, but first, you have to know what you are working towards. But where do you start? One of the most effective approaches is to set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely, or SMART goals. Take time to carefully consider your goals, but know that you can always update or tweak them if need be. Ultimately, having specific, measurable goals will give you direction and help you to identify what kind of action you need to take, and where to start.
Break it down into smaller tasks
Once your goals are set and you know what you’re working towards, it’s time to take action. One of the best strategies is to break your goals down into smaller tasks that are more manageable. This way the actions needed to achieve your goals become less intimidating. For example, if you have to make 100 sales calls in a week, break them down into 20 calls per day. That feels more manageable.
Prioritize
Now that you’ve broken down your tasks into smaller, less intimidating chunks, it’s time to prioritize. Prioritizing tasks will help to focus on the tasks that have the greatest impact first. Once done, you can shift your focus to the more menial, supporting tasks. Getting the important, most impactful tasks done first is not only good for business, but it can also be a great motivator and confidence booster once completed. It will make tasks lower down the list seem more achievable and make taking action easier.
Create a schedule
Another way to take more action in sales is to create a schedule. A schedule provides structure and keeps you on track toward achieving your goals. It serves as a reminder and motivator to take action. When setting a schedule, identify what time of the day you are most productive, or when your customers are most available, then prioritize your tasks in the same way mentioned before; high impact to low impact. Another scheduling rule of thumb is to schedule the most difficult tasks first since you are more likely to be more alert at the start of the day.
Eliminate distractions
A big threat to taking action is distractions. It is easy to get distracted by phone calls, emails, text messages, social media, and everything else in our always-on, always-available world. However, if taking action is a priority, then you will have to eliminate those distractions to help you focus on the task at hand. For example set specific times to take phone calls, check emails, or schedule meetings. Seeking a quiet workspace or using productivity software can also help to eliminate distractions and make taking action easier.
Get an accountability partner
If you want to take more action, more often, then you should get an accountability partner. An accountability partner knows your goals and checks in regularly to see if you’re still on track to reaching them. They hold you accountable. Being held accountable is a great motivator for taking action because it’s easy to tell yourself “I’ll do it later”, but not to someone else.
Reward yourself
When taking action it is important to celebrate your successes and reward yourself for reaching milestones. Rewards can be anything, from a cup of coffee at your favorite coffee shop to a meal at your favorite restaurant or your favorite treat. The important thing is that you acknowledge the hard work that you have put in to reach your goal. Regular rewards will motivate you to take action more often.
Stay flexible
Change is inevitable. Customer tastes change, markets fluctuate, and new competitors enter the market. A changing environment brings with it many unknowns and it’s easy to stagnate and not take action. However, if you want your business to survive you have to accept and embrace change. You have to be willing to change your strategies and find alternative ways to achieve your goals. Take the leap and take action. The more you take action in uncertain times, the easier it will get, and the better you will get at it.
Be consistent
Finally, consistency is key to achieving success in sales. It’s not enough to take action now and again or only when you feel motivated. Consistency means showing up every day, putting in the effort, and making progress toward reaching your goals, even when you don’t feel like it. When you’re consistent, you build momentum, establish trust with your prospects, and become known for your reliability and commitment. What’s more, consistency also pays off in terms of personal development as it better habits, improved skills, and higher levels of confidence.
Taking action in sales is vital for the health of your business. It can be challenging, yet very rewarding, and there are several ways to make taking action easier and more impactful.
