Losing Sales or Gaining Clients?

The sales world can be a lot like dieting and working out. Sales, like dieting and working out, takes dedication, commitment, discipline and knowing when you are off track. If you have tried every diet and none of them has worked, it’s not the diet – it’s the dieter. Similarly, I tell my clients if you have tried every sales strategy and none worked, it’s not the strategy, it is the person implementing the strategy. It’s time for a new approach, one that you can stay committed to and that will produce results.

In sales and dieting, there really is no easy fix for instant results, and most of the hard work is done when nobody is watching. If it were really that easy to see results without lifting a finger, everyone would have the perfect body and a booming business.

In sales, like dieting, if you buy into the belief that there is a new-and-improved formula, that you can have immediate results, be on the fast track to success and never have to leave your office, you will soon be right back where you started. And probably off looking for the next quick fix after that one doesn’t work. Stop the insanity.

When it comes to losing weight, people consider the various options available and choose the one with the best possibility of producing results. Sales are similar. You will want to select a sales strategy that will produce the best outcome for you and your business and stick with it. That is how you produce noticeable results.

Anyone can lose weight rapidly by eating nothing but cottage cheese and water and working out every day at 4 a.m., but that kind of commitment is impossible for most people. In a few weeks, you are back to overeating and sleeping in. Sales and being in business are no different. You can’t just pick up a book, go to one class or listen to a free seminar and expect to have a strategy that works that you can use for the life of your business.

Do you know why every year a new diet book hits the bookstores and becomes the latest craze?

Because dieting is hard and consumers are hungry for the next quick fix and starving for an easy solution. Diet companies know this, so they serve up limitless new-and-improved options to get consumers interested. This applies to all businesses, but especially to those that are in sales. There is no shortage of sales books on the shelves as well. All are serving up the next quick fix and a fast-track program to sales success.

There is no such thing as a quick fix for anything, in life or in business. The only tried-and-true fix is to create a strategy, do some heavy lifting and begin the hard work it takes to make your business thrive. I have worked with many business owners who claim they have tried everything to sell more and grow their business. They may have tried everything, but they never stayed committed long enough to one strategy, and then they were off to the next and the next.

The Right Choices

So, as with dieting and sales, make the right choices, take action every day, start the heavy lifting and begin the process of dedication, commitment and discipline in your business. Just as a dieter who has a goal to get in those skinny jeans, you have to picture what your business will look like when it’s thriving. Call on the will power, be consistent, set realistic expectations, exercise your sales muscle and resist the temptation to cheat.