Just Do It
The biggest reason most salespeople are failing right now is because they're not doing the work. And not just the right work. In some cases, they're not doing any work.
It's easy to get distracted by the myriad ways to get your job done, and then every other day, there's a new tool to help you be even more effective. If you're not overwhelmed by your choices right now, wait a week, and the next great thing will be upon us.
I had a conversation with a client earlier this week about direct contact data for some of the prospects in his territory. About 30% of the administrators they're trying to reach are no longer in their positions.
"Well, have you tried the old-fashioned way of speaking with the assistant or the receptionist?"
"Jeff, why would I want to do that?"
"Well, because they'll know the name of the right person. From there, and using your old contact data, you can derive their direct email address, and the desk phone is probably still the same."
I know this kind of activity doesn't scale, but when we run into bumps in the road like this, we need to remember what we're still capable of. There was an old Mitch Hedberg bit about how escalators could never break. They can only become stairs. The sign next to it would read, "Sorry for the convenience."
It feels like there's always a better way to do something, but execution remains undefeated, and perfect is often the enemy of really good.
I talked about that concept this week on the podcast. I'll occasionally get behind on my recording schedule because I'm overthinking what I need to talk about. You know these episodes are on the Internet forever, right?
It's easy for me to forget that I do some of my best work when I just sit behind the microphone and let it rip. That's when good ideas flow, I dig deeper into the content, and I come up with new ideas as a result. It's live creative brainstorming, and I'm lucky to capture it on tape. It also helps prepare me to be on stage and in front of customers.
But when things are too contrived, most of the magic is lost.
Let's go back to the example I gave above. You can give yourself a lot of reasons not to make those calls, but think of all the good that comes from them.
You get the dopamine hit of not reaching another voicemail box.
You get to talk with a live human about why their boss should take your meeting.
You're refining the way you talk about the problems you solve and the things you sell.
In short, those sales calls and extra reps mean something, and if you went looking for a different data provider instead of just doing the work, you'd miss out on all of that.
Sales technology is a wonderful thing, but before we get too concerned with how to scale, we need to remember to refine what we're scaling. You don't get better by looking for a new app. You get better by doing the work.
I'm not saying you shouldn't deploy technology where it's appropriate. Despite all the apps, there's a certain amount of dirty work that you'll always have to do, and it's worth doing.
Sorry for the convenience.
