Have you ever heard that it takes 21 days to develop a habit? It’s a myth. The time it takes to form a habit varies from person to person, based on motivating factors, payoff, and early wins.1 However, there are some best practices you can use to ensure you are successful with achieving your goals. The first day is always exciting because you’re engaging in something new and moving toward the achievement of your goals. Day two isn’t bad either; you’re pressing forward. By day three, it’s not as exciting anymore and you start to think of excuses why you don’t need to continue. For most people, by the time they get through the end of the first week, they’ve abandoned their new habit. Why do you think there are so many people at the gym the first month of the year? All of these people are excited about their new habit to get fit. By February or March, most have already given up. The same is true when setting up your sales goals.
In order to achieve our monthly and annual sales goals, we have to back them up with daily habits. Do you want to be the top salesperson at your company this year? Then, you will need to adopt new habits to help you increase your sales volume. Developing new habits requires strong motivation and discipline. While your goals should be 100% customized by you, here are some habits top sales professionals exercise daily:
- They plan their day in advance. Time management is a skill mastered by successful people. Plan your work and work your plan. This starts with organizing your tasks before the day begins. Know what you want to accomplish and work your task list throughout the day. Your productivity will skyrocket when your tasks for the day are planned and targeted towards completing your goals.
- They prospect to build their pipeline. Great sales professionals are always building their pipeline no matter how successful they already are. You should have time set aside on a daily basis to grow your pipeline and create new sales opportunities. This is what feeds your business. Lack of attention in this area will starve your growth.
- They set time aside to nurture their existing customers. Many sales professionals fall down in this area because they spend all of their time focusing on how to get new customers. Don’t forget the customers you already have. They still need your attention and care. Each touch doesn’t necessarily have to be a visit. It could be an email or a simple call, but you should devote time daily to nurturing your customer base.
- They are students of their business. Know your competition. Know what is going on in your industry. Many sales professionals neglect this activity because they feel it is passive, but it is your job to be informed about what is happening in the marketplace. Great sales professionals take the time to study their industry, including their competition on a daily basis.
- They schedule appointments with new prospects daily. The number of appointments set daily will depend upon the customized goals you set, but you should be in the habit of doing this on a daily basis. The prospecting activity you engage in each day will help you develop this habit.
As you are working on developing your daily habits, don’t get discouraged if you fall off the bandwagon a couple of times. That is to be expected. What really determines your success is how quickly you get back up and keep going even when you fail. John Maxwell calls it “failing forward.”2 It’s a natural part of success. Work on developing your five key daily habits today and check back with me to share your progress.
Thomas
Chief Sales Coach & Expert “Sales 101” Trainer
Here’s what others are saying:
“Thomas delivered on his promise of teaching the basic fundamentals of sales, basics that we all needed to hear. From our youngest sales professionals to our veteran leaders, Thomas’ message was delivered with passion and clarity.”
– Ryan Clark, Senior Vice President, Baywood Hotels
“I hired EWC to do a half-day session on Social Selling and Thomas came highly recommended. He did not disappoint as there are so many ways to discuss Social Selling and the impact on our business and Thomas was creative and really got the message to resonate with my sales team. He did a great job of researching our company ahead of time and he and I created a solid agenda to meet the needs of my organization. I would strongly recommend EWC and Thomas to anyone looking to get that competitive edge to KILL their competition.”
– John Higgins, Vice President of Sales, Skybitz
“Thomas Ellis is the Peter Drucker of professional sales tactics. He has a real knack for boiling the sales process down to simple but highly practical action steps. His real-world sales information and coaching drives results and helped me close a BIG deal with a midsize business. Thanks so much!”
– Patrick McFadden, President, Indispensable Marketing
Additional Resources
Ellis, C. (2021, Jun. 22). Five essential daily habits for your sales routine. LinkedIn. Retrieved November 16, 2022 from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/five-essential-daily-habits-your-sales-routine-chris-ellis/
Forbes Business Development Council. (2018, Jan. 23). Want To See Greater Sales Success? Incorporate These Nine Habits Into Your Routine. Forbes. Retrieved November 16, 2022 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/2018/01/23/want-to-see-greater-sales-success-incorporate-these-nine-habits-into-your-routine/?sh=115c38f83d3b
Frost, A. (2021, Jul. 21). 26 Habits of Incredibly Successful Salespeople. HubSpot. Retrieved November 16, 2022 from https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/habits-to-become-a-more-effective-salesperson
Salesforce Canada. (2016, Sept. 20). The Top Daily Habits Outstanding Salespeople Have in Common. Salesforce. Retrieved November 16, 2022 from https://www.salesforce.com/ca/blog/2016/09/daily-habits-outstanding-salespeople.html
References
[1] DePaul, K. (2021, Feb. 1). What Does It Really Take to Build a New Habit? Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2021/02/what-does-it-really-take-to-build-a-new-habit
[2] Maxwell, J.C. (2007, Apr. 1). Failing Forward: Turning Mistakes Into Stepping Stones for Success. Reprint Edition. Thomas Nelson Publishers.
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