Most of our readers will be familiar with Stephen Covey’s great book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Basic stuff we know, but what percentage of your sales force has read this book and how many are practicing the habits?
Junior reps, in particular, are good at being busy, however they are not always productive. Activity and results are related, but they are definitely not the same thing.
To jog your memory, the seven habits are listed below and adapted to a sales context:
Habit 1 : Be Proactive - focus your time and energy on outcomes you can control.
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind – Begin each day, or endeavor with a customer service mission or sales goal in mind.
Habit 3: Put First Things First – Know your priorities, your top deals and accounts and push everything else off.
Habit 4: Think Win-Win - Work towards deals and contracts that are mutually beneficial to you and the customer.
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood – Focus on the what the client is saying and wants instead of what you want to say
Habit 6: Synergize – Value different perspectives and leverage the creative energies of many – prospects and team-mates alike.
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw – Stay at peak performance by staying fresh and balanced across all aspects of life – physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.
**Special note re Habit #3. Put First Things First, offer the following important and useful tool for being productive: the time management matrix. Our diagram below shows Covey’s matrix adapted to sales and sales management.
Covey Time Management Matrix for Sales
Condition your sales force to stay focused on Quadrant 1 activities which are both Important and Urgent.
PS – you may also be interested in reading our recent blog post – Habits of Highly Effective Sales Leaders
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