Sales Results Media
SOHO MAGAZINE ONLINE : How Good Is Your Chili?
It’s an interesting title for a sales-related article, wouldn't you say? On occasion I refer to making a pot of chili with my clients as an analogy for improving one's sales. Let me explain. Remember the first time you tried to make a pot of chili or any other multi-ingredient dish? When you began, did you start with a recipe and all of the necessary ingredients? Were they put in the pot in the right order and in the exact amounts? In the end, how did it turn out?
If your experience was some pretty mediocre chili or worse, and you ended up dumping the batch into the sink, then you are not alone. Now, let's think about creating a sale in the same relation to this chili-making experience. Your sales might be dismal or they might be improving, but are they the best they can be? Just like making award-winning chili, there are a variety of things that need to happen for one to get the blue ribbon. Here are two key factors in understanding where your "chili" really stands.
First, do you have a good recipe to start with?
Unfortunately, most sales people go on appointments without a plan or process. You may not have enough information about your prospect to be properly prepared for the call. Also, you could be presenting your product or service too early into the sales process, therefore doing too much free consulting. Any one of these issues could be messing up your "pot of chili."
Second, have you taken the time to really taste your chili after each batch is completed?
The definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again and expecting a different result. Unless you can effectively debrief each and every sales call, it is difficult to improve your sales. Just like tasting each new batch that comes off the stove, you should try to understand what went right or wrong on each sales appointment. By making the proper adjustments, you can correct the mistakes made during your last sales call. Over time, you can observe and apply what's working and quickly discard what's not. Whether we’re talking about creating great chili or improving sales, planning and debriefing are critical elements to successful selling. Is there anything worthwhile in life that doesn't involve learning, practice and improvement? The big difference here is in understanding that our sales production directly affects our livelihoods. I can't think of a better reason to make an extra effort to improve and refine your sales skills.
Maybe now is the right time to earn that blue ribbon for your chili and make the decision to improve your sales.