Simple Habits For Sales Success: Savor the Moment

A major milestone in my business just went past, and I completely failed to notice it, much less acknowledge it.  It made me think about the journey of building a business, the challenges along the way, and the little victories that happen every day that we forget to appreciate and encourage in our journey.

Quite often during a sales cycle, we move the deal forward and are so focused on the end goal that we forget to think about what brought us to success so far in the deal.  We fail to make note of what we did right to get where we are.  It might be a meeting we had a year ago that established a relationship.  Perhaps, it was a positive touch outside of the deal that helped the client think of us when it came time to do business.  Or, we did an exceptional job with the client, listened and asked questions to uncover emotional wants and needs, and the client left the discussion thinking that “…that sales person really gets me and my world”.

Whatever it was, recognizing and reinforcing positive actions and little victories is essential in developing the habits that lead to consistent success.  Even if it was dumb luck that a positive action was taken, make note of it so the next time a similar situation is faced, it’s a conscious action that leads to the result you want.

Just as we do a “post mortem” when a deal fails, we need to do the same when we succeed.  Resist the urge to over-celebrate and use success as a learning opportunity.

Oh, and my milestone?  Advisory and Consulting Services LLC had its second anniversary last month.

I think I am going to spend an hour or two thinking about all the things we did right to get here.  Over dinner with my wife.