SellingPower.com

Excerpted from the October 2009 Issue of

Sales Management Newsletter

It's Not the Economy, Stupid

If you've been trying to reach a goal – sales or otherwise – but haven't attained it, theproblem might not be the economy or a lack of resources or your busy schedule. Instead,you may be dealing with one or more of the eight "success blockers" that can stop youfrom completing something you want to achieve. These blockers can "stop you cold,"even when you've got skill and resources on your side, says Arlene Johnson in her newbook, Success Mapping (Emerald Book Co., 2009).How often have you had a sales goal you didn't achieve? Or sought a promotion youdidn't get? Maybe you simply wanted to do a better job of coaching your sales team thisyear but now realize you didn't do things much differently from last year's efforts. Or perhaps you want to start a blog, but between work, travel, and family demands, you can'tseem to find the time to do it. Chances are one of the success blockers is stopping youfrom getting there. In her book, Johnson, founder and president of Sinequanon GroupInc., explores eight blockers. Here's a look at three that are common among salesprofessionals:Lack of focus. You likely know what you want to accomplish; the problem for many inthe sales profession is a lack of laser-focus on it. It is so easy to get distracted putting outfires and attending to the demands of the here and now, that creating a personal Websiteor crafting a long-term vision – and a plan for getting there – for your sales team can keepsliding to the bottom of your to-do list. Without declaring an intention about where tofocus your energies and actions, however, your goals remain simply good ideas. That'swhy the first step to getting out of your rut is creating an intention statement, saysJohnson."Your statement of what you want to accomplish keeps you energized, engaged, andfocused on making the best decisions and taking the best actions," she explains. Theintention statement is just that – a written declaration of what you want to accomplish,and in what time frame. Write it down and keep it posted somewhere where you'll see itoften during the day.Ignoring your strengths. We all have unique skills, competencies, and character traits thatcan help us succeed in our jobs and lives. The problem, says Johnson, is that too often wedon't know, utilize, or leverage those strengths to help us more easily achieve a goal. Toovercome this blocker, create a list of your personal strengths – those qualities that allowyou to enjoy what you're doing and help you do it well. Are you good at coaching anddeveloping others? Are you a creative, conceptual thinker who often comes up with newideas? Are you highly organized and efficient? Are you good at forging and leveragingrelationships? Once you've created your list, ask yourself, which of these strengths arerelevant to your goal? Make a list of goal-relevant strengths and keep it handy. When yourun into a stumbling block on the path to your goal, pull out the list and identify which