Sales Article - Why Are You in Sales...Really?! by Sales Training Trainer - Atlanta Georgia GA, Sales Seminar on Sales Influence and Persuasion by Sales Trainer Victor Antonio

Sales Training Atlanta Georgia

Sales Article: Answer the Question, Why Are You in Sales...Really?!

by Victor Antonio, BSEE, MBA

Why are you in Sales...Really?! If someone were to stop you dead in your tracks while making a sales presentation and simply asked you the question, ‘Why are you in sales?’ how would you answer? I’d like you to think about that for a moment because it’s a very important question. In fact, I will go out on a limb and say that the very answer to this question will be an indicator of whether or not you’ll be successful in the sales profession.

Many will say, “Money, that’s the reason I’m in sales.” Which still begs the question, what will money get you. Here are some benefits of having money: Financial freedom, Worry free living, more time with my family, send the kids to the best schools, buy that new car or house you’ve always wanted, or retire early. Can you think of any others?

The more tangible and real you make your reasons for being in sales, the more likely you are to stay motivated and sell better. What I’d like you to do this give this question some serious thought, “Why am I in Sales?” Write down the ‘why’ that drives you.

Dark Days of Selling

The reason that writing down tangible goals looking forward will become evident during those dark days of selling, and there will be some, when you sales numbers are not what you expected them to be. There’ll be days when you don’t want to pick up the phone and make that next phone call. There’ll be days when every deal that was done just became undone. There will be days when you don’t feel like making the sales pitch or even taking the time to write up a proposal to send to your prospect.

There will be low-tide days where you can’t seem to surf your way out and catch a sales wave. It will be in those moments of personal anxiety in which you will question the sanity of being in sales. At that precise moment having your long term objectives in mind will come in handy.

I once heard that obstacles are those things you see when you take your eye off the goal. If that’s the case, then the day-to-day challenges of selling can be gratifying because you know it’s part of the success process and everyday brings you one step closer to your goal.

Each day your challenge will be to overcome, avoid or jump over any obstacle in your path. Your strength to stay the course will depend on your ability to call to mind the reason or reasons why you’re in sales. If in your mind you know what the long term goal is and you can see it with clarity, when things gone wrong in your day-to-day, summon that vision of tomorrow in your mind as a reminder that each obstacle resolved brings you that much closer to your goal...BUT YOU KNOW ALL THIS ALREADY!

Make it Personal...Quantify the Goal

Writing down goals is fine, but what I found to be more effective is to write down specifically what you ‘want’ and what it will take to get it. For example, if you want to buy a new car with cash that costs $30,000 then write that down. Now, let’s assume your average sale is $1,000 and you make $200 for each sale in commission. Well, that means you’d have to make 180 sales ($36,000 divided by $200) in order to earn that much money.

One hundred and eighty sales sounds like a lot but when you divided by 12 months in one year, that means you had to make 15 (180 divided by 12) sales each month (or 4 sales per week) to meet your goal. You now know how hard, or easy depending on your perspective, you’ll have to work to get that new car.

Now it doesn’t have to be a car. It could be enough money in the bank to put your children through college or maybe you want to pay off your new house. Whatever the goal, quantify what it will take in terms of sales to make it happen.

Assign your goal a timeframe. Don’t just say I want a new car eventually. Not good enough! Give yourself a deadline. When you give yourself a target date your automatically create a sense of urgency. Failing to do so will only result in your ‘moving the date out in order to alleviate any pressure you may put on yourself. No deadline leads to complacency. It has been said that a dream is a goal with a deadline; I wholeheartedly agree.

Commitment Exercise

Think of something you’d like to achieve and then ‘quantify your goal’ just like I did with the new car.

Step 1:

[ Find a picture or cut it out of a magazine that

represents your goal & paste it right here ]

Step 2: Walk through this exercise

(1) Object of your desire: ____________________ (ex. Car)

(2) Cost of this object: _______________________ (ex. $36,000)

(3) Average commission per sales: _____________ (ex. $200)

(4) Months to complete this goal: ______________ (ex. 12 months or 1 year)

(5) How many sales needed: _____________________ Take (2) divided by (3)

(6) How many sales per month: ___________________ Take (5) divided by (4)

Step 3: Lastly, I want you to find someone in your life who respect greatly. I want you to share your goal with that person and then I want you to have that person ‘witness’ your commitment statement. Studies have shown that when we know we’re being watch by someone we respect, we are more likely to act consistent with what we believe and what we said we would do.

Commitment Statement

I __________________________________ (your name) hereby commit to directing all

my time, energy and resources to achieving the above goal by ___________ (date).

Sign right here: ___________________________ Today’s Date: _________________

Witnessed by:_____________________________

Victor Antonio, Sales Influence

"Finding the Why in Buy"

Copyright © 2009 by Victor Antonio - Atlanta, Georgia GA. All rights reserved. This article MAY be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, as long as the author’s name, website and email address are included as part of the article’s body. All inquiries, including information on electronic licensing, should be directed to Victor Antonio at info@victorantonio.com.