Stop showing up and throwing up

Love this phrase. It’s so true. Not just in sales, but, in everything we do — just going through the paces, right? Not putting any effort or pride into the work?

Think about it.

I had a new fence put up on my property recently and it was spot-on (exactly what my wife wanted). But, you could tell as the guys worked on digging the holes and nailing the boards to the posts, they had done it a thousand times before and knew they would do it a thousand times more. And because of that, they lost taking pride in what they did — there were some boards not exactly lined up, the wiring (had to have wire put up also because of all of our dogs) didn’t cover the ground completely, and so on.

It wasn’t perfect. But, it was dang good — I couldn’t have done any better, or, for that matter, come close to how well they did. Would I recommend them to others, absolutely — but, I would definitely throw in the caveat that it would be 99% good, just not perfect.

Unfortunately, with sales, you don’t have the opportunity to miss 1% of the time. Especially if the “miss” is a multi-million multi-year deal.

I know, I know, most of you are saying — “I’ll take 99% anytime.” And you are right — most of us would.

But, let’s go down the path of sales — first, you have to get the lead, then, you have to follow-up with the lead (this is where part of that 99% plays a key part), then, if you do get the opportunity to continue, you still have to impress and deliver (another part of that 99%) and close the deal (another part of that 99%).

I guess, the way I look at it, is that you have to deliver 100% at a minimum three times during the sales process (at a minimum!). Showing up and throwing up isn’t going to get you very far, even if it’s 99% (unless you are building fences and the sale has already been made).

Sales is hard. You have to be “spot-on” (a favorite saying of one of our founders) every single time. Meaning, 100%. You fall short just once, your buyer is going to go to the competition.

You have to be 100% every single moment, from what you say on the phone, to what supporting documents you have to provide, to getting back to your buyer in a timely manner. Every time.

If you could get that extra 1%, where would you want it? What would you do with it? Would you add it to getting a new smartphone so you wouldn’t ever miss a message? Would you add it to your personality and go take speaking classes so you can communicate better? Or would you spend it on having the capability to insure that best documents you could provide to your buyer were available?

How you spend that 1% is up to you — but, if you answered that you would like to be able to find and deliver the best content, then, you are at the right place.

Check out Illumineto Spark — a cool little platform for sales professionals that give you that extra 1%; not only in finding the best documents, but in managing the engagement process with your buyer.