Which Sales ADD Do You Suffer?

Which Sales ADD Do You Suffer?:
from The Pipeline by admin



Let’s take it as a given that all good sales people suffer some form of ADD, if you want to debate that, feel free to give me a call, but there is no denying that we bounce around like so many balls on a pinball table. But Sales ADD, like cholesterol, come in two forms, good and bad, the question is which do you have, and how is it impacting you and your success.
The basic question is whether you allow the “affliction” to distract you – or – do you leverage it and use it as your secret advantage.
Common characteristics of ADD include inattention, easy distractibility, disorganization, procrastination, and forgetfulness.  Pretty much the common failings of many sales people.  These are further accentuated when you have to do both hunting and farming in the same territory; in fact I think farmers hide it better, maybe that is why it seems more pronounced among hunters.
The good news is, like for those who have ADD outside sales, there are ways to effective address, manage and use the attributes to your advantage.
Easy Distractibility – Let’s face it, you can take this even further by saying some sales people look for distractions just to avoid doing certain things, like clod calling for example.  Instead, take the time to sit down at the end of every sales day, (mark it in your calendar), inventory what needs to get done tomorrow and the day after, in order to move sales forward.  Prioritize them, and schedule them.  In cases where it involves things you don’t like, such as cold calling, do it first, (do it well) get it out of the way, and then move on.
Inattention – One reason we are distracted, and to some degree distracted, is we don’t plan things, don’t right it down, keep a mental ‘to do’ list, which has us continuously thinking about what we have to get done and how, which causes us to lose focus and attention.
Disorganization – Clutter, be it mental, physical or environmental, just adds to the challenge.  A disorganized environment leads to all of the above, and a disorganized approach.  This is where technology can help.  Get past the usual paranoia some have about CRM, and look at it as you weapon in not only the attributes above, but allows you to better allocate time to the right activities, and more importantly strategize to win.  Organize you plan of attack, and you will win the battle.
Forgetfulness – I forget what I was going to say, but I am sure it’ll come to you if you read above.
Procrastination – Which one of us has not fallen victim to this.  But again, if you look at the relationship between time and success, you would not put things off.  We tend to put off those things we see as either unimportant, and the things we don’t like to do, which often we label as “unimportant”.  Having an execution plan, and a commitment to execution, allows you to be less subjective, and place the activity in the broader context of success as opposed to a “task”.  Tasks are easy to blow off or avoid, success is not.  Even the worst procrastinator does not want to postpone success.
Those who over come ADD in the world outside of sale do it through awareness and proactive steps.  So can those suffering from Sales ADD; and while there may be no Ritalin for the sales afflicted, there is help for those who seek it.

What’s in Your Pipeline?
Tibor Shanto