There’s this great line, from Al Pacino, during his halftime speech in the film “Any Given Sunday.”
“In either game, life or football, the margin for error is so small - I mean one-half a step too late, or too early, and you don’t quite make it. One-half second too slow, too fast, you don’t quite catch it.”
“The inches we need are everywhere around us,” Pacino continues.
Clay Mills loves that speech, and not just because he’s seen “Any Given Sunday” half a dozen times. The Vice President of Sales in Texas sees a solid Datamax connection — be it copier or IT sales.
“I love the ‘inch by inch’ analogy,” Clay says. “I also like to think of it as, ‘how do you eat a rhinoceros?’ one bite at a time. It’s the same thing in sales – sometimes it’s easier to tackle it in small portions.”
FTA discoveries are up in Texas. Sales are up 21 percent. Things are looking good, and Clay says the crew seems to be in alignment and pushing forward. But as he looks to the remaining portion of 2021, he doesn’t rattle off statistics. He points to the small things.
Inch by Inch: Four ‘Little Things’ to Keep in Mind in Sales
- Make every minute count. Block time in your calendar. Every Monday, Clay expects reps to have their calendar lined out. “If you come in Monday, and you don’t have a plan, nothing improves,” Clay says.
- Prioritize activities. Your “A” time should be spent selling. “B” time is everything else – proposals, entering data, etc. “For my team, 9 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 4 p.m., that’s your “A” time,” He says. “You should be selling, prospecting, making appointments, or closing.”
- The magic word is sincerity. “I am frequently asked, what makes the most successful salespeople; I believe this trait is true for all positions, and for every one of us: Sincerity,” Clay says. “How do you convey sincerity? By being honest.”
- Long in the ears, short on the mouth. It’s advice his father gave him years ago, but it holds up in sales. Listening skills are absolutely critical to any sales success story.
Similarly, David Holzhauer, VP of Sales in Arkansas, says that little things matter. Here are 3 tips from him.
- Focus on the Fundamentals. Plain and simple, time management. David says this means getting out in front of customers, using valuable time to build rapport with businesses in your territory. Ask questions. “Reps don’t make money in the office,” David says. “They make money by cultivating relationships.”
- Become Relevant to THEIR business. One way? Find out how they make their money. For instance, attorneys make theirs via billable hours that can be processed and turned around quickly. Similarly, doctors do so by filing, processing insurance claims. “Are you really drilling down to what individual businesses do, and what makes them successful?” David says. “Every company out there makes money on one aspect of their business. It’s our job to research that, and then introduce technology, software or hardware, that helps make them more productive and more successful.”
- Keep your head up. “We’re all going to make a certain number of unpleasant calls every day. You can’t let that get you down,” David said. “A champion in my opinion is someone who may get slapped down, but one who gets back up, even if they can’t.”
