President’s weekend brought more than a long weekend. This year it served up 14 inches of snow. Living in Utah and having grown up in Minnesota (where winter lasts a majority of the year) I’m accustomed to winter and what comes with it. I gladly welcome the ritual of “digging out.”
How to Improve Sales Skills: The Value of Investment
Currently, I dig out using a shovel. I have yet to break down and invest in a snowblower, a tool that doesn’t exactly speed up the process… but certainly makes it less labor intensive. Something like that would’ve been nice, considering how wet and heavy this particular 14 inches of snow was.
My generous neighbor saw my struggle and kindly offered to let me borrow his snowblower, which I kindly refused. His response truly resonated with me: “Well… until you decide to invest in a snowblower, I guess you’re investing in yourself”.
It was a perspective I hadn’t even considered. Up until now, I just figured I was too cheap and stubborn to buy a snowblower. But in all reality, I was fortunate to have this time and the physical ability to do this chore… and with each shovel full I was actually investing even more in myself.
With that experience in mind, I share with you some of the everyday habits that we can develop to further improve sales skills.
Continue to Invest in Yourself
There are 24 hours in each day and your personal development is certainly worth a minimum of one hour of that timeframe. You are your biggest asset and your ability to continue to grow, develop, improve and offer value will be paramount to your overall success and earning potential. Never stop looking for ways to get even better mentally or physically.
- Read
- Listen to podcasts
- Go to the gym
- Sit down with a pen and paper and think
- Yes! Make a deliberate habit of actively thinking, using your imagination and brainstorming ideas.
More Scheduling of Activities
Time management is consistently ranked as the number one challenge to productivity. After working with several talented people with a solid grasp of their time, I can share the fact that this habit does not come easily, but the return is exponential. Here are a few tips on time management:
- Write down and capture all of your tasks
- Prioritize the tasks that generate the best return or value
- Bucket times/activities in your calendar
- Review your calendar throughout the day
- If you have a more fluid day, move tasks around, but do not remove them
- Avoid distractions once you have begun
- Plan your week the Friday before and plan your day the night before
Even More Clarity of Your Goals & Vision
Tasks can have a tendency to be just that–tasks. It can be hard to get really motivated when the immediate moment doesn’t seem to be very rewarding. Which is why it’s important to have a goal or a larger vision that you are working towards. Then each task becomes a step, and each step gets you closer to accomplishing your goal or vision. Knowing that you’re making progress can be uplifting and can be the catalyst to an even better attitude and even better results. To help establish these, ask yourself:
- What does success look like?
- How will I know I am successful?
- What is the long term plan?
Developing valuable everyday habits is key to answering the question of how to improve sales skills. Implement these things today, and you’ll quickly find yourself investing in your personal and professional growth.
