Success Junkies 

 

A customer of mine enjoyed several consecutive years of growth and success. Their organization grew from a small, family-run  company into a major player in their markets. They enjoyed good years and even better profits while navigating economic challenges and winning against tough, global competition. Then, they were acquired by a Fortune 500 company for a multiple that was many times their annual revenue. 

 

When I asked an executive at the company what were the keys that led to their consistent triumphs, he replied, “It’s simple: “We’re a bunch of Success Junkies.” 

 

I thought, WOW, what an amazing perspective. Success Junkies! Being addicted to success can drive exceptional performance; it can serve as a strong motivator to exceed the most aggressive goals; and it can facilitate teamwork that drives results that are only possible when everyone is working from the same playbook. 

 

Think about how sales professionals who are Success Junkies will approach their job:

– they seize each day from the time they awaken until they hit the pillow at night

– they pursue every sales opportunity as if it’s a must win… because it just might be

– they ruthlessly qualify opportunities so they don’t waste time on those not interested in solving major business issues

– they have a passion for serving their customers; they are agile and implement innovative approaches in their business to meet their commitments 

– their positive attitude is infectious to other team members… and even to their customers who want to be around partners who pursue greatness  

– they tirelessly devise ways to overcome challenges, no matter how difficult they may be.

 

 

Embracing the mindset of becoming a Success Junkie can help you gain an additional perspective in your quest to become an elite sales performer.  

 

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on what it takes to become an Elite Seller, visit my website at thetechseller.com 

 

Resilience

 

Elite Sellers possess a skill that helps them get through challenging times and difficult situations. The skill is called resilience… it’s the ability to rebound from adversity.

 

Just as a boxer takes a hard punch to the jaw, then falls to the canvass, they have two choices: lay there and get counted out accepting defeat, or get up, dust oneself off, and fight on. 

 

I asked an Elite Seller how he developed resilience. 

He said, “It’s a simple answer, really. You get knocked down… you gotta get back up”.

 

But he was brushing off times early in his selling career, when he did not easily recover. When he fretted over troubling customer situations, when he became very stressed out when deals went south. When he worried about hitting his forecast to the point where he lay awake at night trying to resolve problems in business and even in his personal life he seemingly had no control over. 

 

Along the way, he developed grit and the mental toughness needed to win in a highly competitive market. Now he tosses aside the thought that those challenges will get to him.

 

It’s having the passion and the strong belief that in the end you will achieve the result you desire. It’s persevering through adversity, devising strategies to address the near-term obstacles with your eyes on your long-term goals. 

 

Grit requires that you Embrace the Grind. You understand that nothing is given; everything is earned. You don’t let challenges and difficulties wear you down. Each day, you reflect on what you have learned and what you can do to get better. 

 

It’s important for you to work to attain the grit and the mental toughness that will help you gain the resilience you need to reach elite status as a sales professional. 

 

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on what it takes to become an Elite Seller, visit my website at thetechseller.com 

 

The Emergence of Advanced Technologies 5

 

The fifth advanced technology is a Cloud Computing Environment, which provides for storing and accessing data and application programs over the internet. Instead of requiring that all data and all applications reside on dedicated company servers or your local computer’s hard drive, they are “in the cloud” and accessible from any device, anywhere in the world. 

 

Here are the major areas where AI can leverage the functions of a Cloud Computing Environment for greater results: 

1) All users access the same rules, models, and customer data rather than dealing with a proliferation of local data that could result in inaccurate or inconsistent results. 

2) Sales teams can quickly analyze customer behaviors to gain insight on their needs, their propensity to buy, and solutions that might be the best fit. 

3) Sales applications in the cloud can help your B2B customers: 

– Enable self-service—once the initial cloud contractual agreement is in place between your company and your customer, it is much easier for that customer to perform self-service functions.

– Simplify their ordering process—the customer will have complete visibility about your solution pricing and could place orders directly for upgrades, new products, and even services. 

– Improve access to customer support—your customer will also have better access to your customer support knowledge base for self-service customer care. 

– Enjoy flexibility in pricing and terms—where appropriate for your products and services, a subscription-based pricing model can be put in place. This is usually more flexible for your customer, who can pay as they go by the month or quarter or choose to renew their subscription on an annual basis. 

 

The AI technologies discussed in these briefings raise the bar for what is possible to implement game-changing sales automation. 

 

I’m DJ Sebastian, for more info on how AI will transform the sales profession, check out my book at my website thetechseller.com. 

 

The Emergence of Advanced Technologies 4

 

The fourth advanced technology is Data Analytics. 

 

This AI component acts like the human brain’s mechanism for storing and recalling information in memory banks and performing the computations that enable decision-making. 

 

Data Analytics examines large amounts of data from multiple disparate sources to uncover hidden patterns, find correlations, reveal trends, and detect insights that were previously unknown or not readily apparent due to the inability to access large volumes of information. 

 

Data Analytics also includes a mechanism for displaying analytics results—in the form of either reports or visual dashboards—that are used to monitor performance of key metrics and progress toward achieving goals. 

 

Here are a few examples: 

1) Sales management views a performance dashboard to visually monitor overall sales. They view performance above (or below) quota in total, or drill down to view performance by region, by product, and by individual sales rep. 

 

2) Sales management generates a new sales forecast detailing each deal amount for each customer opportunity. This includes a “win rate confidence level” based on several factors, including deal complexity, customer business value, sales process steps completed, and salesperson profile. 

 

3) Salespeople access reports on the most effective lead development programs by region.

 

4) Salespeople determine the best target customers to include in a new marketing program to optimize the revenue results of the campaign. 

5) Sales operations predicts the percentage of leads that will convert into sales for each customer buying segment. This is determined by several factors, including lead source, customer loyalty level, and age of the lead. 

 

I’m DJ Sebastian, and we will cover the other emerging technologies in the next briefings. 

 

The Emergence of Advanced Technologies 3

 

The third advanced technology is the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. 

 

This component is a fully featured application that companies use to manage customer data and sales opportunities, and salespeople activity. 

 

Here are the major areas where AI can leverage the functions contained within a CRM system for greater results. 

 

First: Repository for Customer and Sales Data

The CRM contains a repository of information that serves as the master data source for customers, sales processes, sales teams, sales opportunities, and the sales pipeline. Data Analytics can compute and store statistics, measurements, and other key indicators to compute tendencies and determine how best to identify targets for marketing campaigns and promotions.

 

Second: Sales Management Planning 

The CRM enables sales management to better monitor sales activity. This includes: 

• Tracking the status of sales opportunities.
• Monitoring the performance of sales teams, identifying where standard sales procedures are being followed (or not), and alerting managers to potential trouble so potential problems can be alleviated.
• Providing guidance on the sales pipeline, by viewing sales revenue forecasts to get a snapshot into the overall health of the sales pipeline, and to determine when (or if) revenue shortfalls can be anticipated. 

 

Third: Sales Team Execution

The CRM assists sales professionals in executing their daily selling tasks, including: 

• Managing the customer relationship throughout the sales cycle, from identifying opportunities and winning business to servicing the customer after the win. 
• Recording the relevant interactions with the customer, including key conversations, key sponsors, meeting outcomes, next steps, and barriers to advancing the sales cycle. 
• Identifying customers and prospective customers who are the best targets for marketing promotion campaigns. 
• Preparing and executing messaging for campaigns.

 

I’m DJ Sebastian, and we will cover the other emerging technologies in the next briefings.