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Discipline and organisation make a difference in sales. Discipline ourself to do the things we need to do when we need to do them and the day will come when we will be able to do the things we want to do when we want to do them.

The recipe for sales success, is simply outworking our competition. By adding integrity, discipline and organisation to the recipe and a constant quest for knowledge and learning about how to become “even better” as a professional salesperson.

Each one of us is unique. Every salesperson has qualities and characteristics as well as mannerisms, procedures, and habits that will vary from anyone else. However, outstanding salespeople have many things in common. A common trait of the top producers is being “time-conscious” and the key to success is the use of this allotment of time. Sales professionals do not count time, they time count.

Efficiency means doing things right and effectiveness is doing the right things. The better we utilise our time, the more income we will generate, the more free time we will have for our family and for taking those really nice trips.

The portrait of the truly professional salesperson (a time-conscious, service-oriented, product-believing, profession-loving person) in INTEEGRITY, add a GENUINE LOVE FOR PEOPLE, and we have a solid foundation for sales success. The highly productive professional salesperson is also a professional looker and listener who pays attention to the details of the sales call, observes the mannerisms of the prospect, and tunes in to the prospect’s rate of speech. A true professional makes every effort to get in harmony and establish rapport with the prospect.

“Self-analysis” is a magnificent procedure designed to keep carefully documented running account of our activities. Activity is “how we use our time” and building a pipeline is the key to consistent results for the selling professional and pipeline means “number of qualified buyers being worked”. Great managers begin by managing results, when results are not there, they manage and train on techniques and skills. When technique and skill training is not getting results, outstanding managers focus on activity.

Everybody needs a method, technique, or system for accountability. The best team does not always come out on top on the scoreboard, and the best pay checks do not always belong to the top performers. They are indicators of performance but are not the final word. True professionals have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that they did the best they could with they had at any given point in time. They have the peace of mind of knowing that they are being true to the value system in which they believe. This can only be accomplished only with a system that allows the people seeking success to hold themselves accountable for tasks and objectives. None of us can manage time but we can account for our use of this precious commodity. We cannot control the thoughts and actions of other people but we can make choices about how we are going to spend our time and what objectives we will seek.

The most important thing is not which system we use – the most important thing is that we have a system.

(Adapted from “The Ultimate Handbook for the Complete Sales Professional – Ziglar on Selling”, Chapter 15-  Organisation and Discipline – How to Gain Control of Your Time and Your Life, by Zig Ziglar)