3 Things I’ll Focus 100% of My Time on If I’ve to Start My Sales Career All Over Today
The road less traveled
Sales is naturally challenging.
And confusing.
Here’s why.
- Too many people think they are good in sales without making a single $.
- Too many online sales gurus teaching us what to do when they don’t have a clue.
- Too many sales professionals preach an unnecessary need to do a million things in a day.
We seek practical advice. But we are shrouded in fluff. Are these pieces of advice real? Trustworthy?
I have no idea.
I don’t believe in any of these. Here’s why.
I made $780,000 without all these rah-rah… running a 1-person regional office for my company in the past 2 years.
My personal road and desk experience suggests otherwise.
The 3 Things
It is easy to suggest that we try a million things to figure out those 3.
Hey, for sure. If you are an absolute novice — You should.
No online course can ever trump hands-on experience.
Allow me to cut short your pain.
I will focus on these 3 things if I am starting my sales (technically, consulting sales) career all over again today.
- Building a Rolodex contact list.
- Committing 50% of my time with prospects on site.
- Secure 1 big fish for every 4 small ones.
Let me explain why.
And how.
1. The Rolodex
- In the physical world — We need a contact list.
- In the online world — We need an email list.
I wonder if I’m the only one who noticed this. There is no difference between the two. What we want is a list of people to call or reach out to.
The purpose defers.
- We call prospects to close a sale.
- We call business partners to ask for an opportunity to meet their clients.
- We call our peers to consult on sales pitch improvement and techniques to overcome objections.
I’ll say this.
If you are starting your sales career today with no clue what the next step is…
Call your peers. Preferably peers who are months ahead of you.
- Ask how they got their first contact.
- Ask how they build their contact list.
- Ask them where they source their contacts.
- As possible, shadow them and follow them for your 1st 30 days.
I remember when I first started. I had zero contacts in Asia. My headquarters is in Europe, and my Chief Revenue Officer had zero contacts to share with me.
0, gals and pals.
He did (casually) mention that there is one event happening in Singapore. This is the biggest event in Germany, and the event organizer replicated it here.
I did not hesitate.
I went.
And for 2 days on foot,
- I shook hands with hundreds of participants.
- Increased LinkedIn connections by 100s.
- Took back 100+ name cards.
I felt rich. Suddenly, I had scores of people to contact, visit, and pitch my sales proposition.
I am no longer flying around like a clueless housefly.
So, yes. This is my first tip.
Go where the people are.
Collect contacts.
Build a list.
That is your immediate priority. Everything else is a distant second.
2. 50% of My Time in Prospects’ Office
Our work desk is a comfort trap.
We think we are doing good work at our desks when we are,
- Firing emails,
- Sending meeting invitations,
- Getting into Teams, Zoom, Google Meet conferences,
- Preparing flashy presentation slides,
- Rehearsing our pitch.
I hate to dash your hopes, but.
You will not clinch your first deal in your first month or quarter, hiding behind your laptop.
I encourage you to get out there.
Meet your clients where they are.
I offer you 3 simple reasons why so.
- You can build a web of who’s who when you are in their workplace.
- You can observe their pain points without them telling you.
- You can visualize what A-Day-in-Their-Life looks like.
Your sales pitch will be 70% ready when you leave their office after the first meeting. Best part? Your pitch will be contextually relevant.
Trust me on this.
Get out there.
Hit the roads.
You’ll learn.
3. The 1 Big: 4 Small Ratio
Young and inexperienced sales professionals tend to make this mistake.
They focus exclusively on big deals.
“I need to hit my first $100,000!”
Okay, yes. Ambition respected. But business reality can crush us with a ton of bricks. Anchor clients with deep pockets are notoriously hard to secure.
Find your balance.
Smaller clients are necessary at Ground 0. Here’s why.
They have lower expectations of you, your product, and your service. You’ll have time to pursue other clients. And time is [exactly] what you need to hook a big fish.
Based on my experience in consulting sales,
- It takes me 3 weeks to close a $4,000 — $5,000 deal.
- It takes me 7 months to seal a $150,000 — $380,000 contract.
Every small win secured gives you financial ammunition to pursue the big fish. Remember. You need more money to survive when your sales cycle is long.
A healthy combination of small and big wins goes a long way.
It stabilizes your cash flow and client portfolio.
For me, the golden ratio is 1 big: 4 small.
Give it a try.
When you are just starting out, focus on winning a deal. Leave the deal size aside. Your anchor client accounts will come.
The Close
These are the 3 things I will do… if I am back at Ground 0.
- Building a Rolodex contact list.
- Committing 50% of my time with prospects on site.
- Secure 1 big fish for every 4 small ones.
These are not superficial activities. Every one of them contributes to our pipeline of opportunities.
That is what you want. And need.
All the best!
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