NOT TO DO LIST FOR SALESPEOPLE AND MANAGERS

15 Things Salespeople And Sales Managers Should Put On Their “Not-To-Do” List

Elmer Leterman once wrote, "Human beings in any line of work could double their productive capacity overnight if they began right now to do all the things they know they should do and stop doing all the things they knows they should not do." Leterman suggests that we're all standing in our own way on the road to success.

What’s holding us back is that we all love to improvise instead of relying on proven skills and acting on what we know is the right course of action.

15 things salespeople should have on their daily “not to do” list:

Don’t waste time chasing unprofitable leads
Don’t show up late for the call
Don’t make a call without a plan & preparation
Don’t pretend to listen – stay focused
Don’t talk about politics, religion or sex
Don’t talk about what you like, talk about what the prospect likes
Don’t talk about features without explaining the benefits
Don’t quote price before establishing value
Don’t skip steps in the sales process – stay on track
Don’t forget to upsell and cross-sell
Don’t over-promise and under-deliver
Don’t lie – build trust
Don’t under-dress or over-dress
Don’t drink prior to a call – look your best
Don’t flirt with the staff – be charming

15 things sales managers should put on their daily “not to do” list:

Don’t hire salespeople based on your gut instincts alone
Don’t slip back into the role of the super-salesperson
Don’t claim you made a sale that you helped create
Don’t play favorites - be fair to everyone
Don’t accept incompetence – set the bar high
Don’t resist change – embrace it
Don’t reject technology because you don’t understand it
Don’t mistake sales increases with profitability
Don’t think that sales training is unnecessary
Don’t allow salespeople to put their monkeys on your back
Don’t criticize in public, offer performance feedback in a private setting
Don’t assign a $10 an hour job to a $120,000 a year sales executive
Don’t push your salespeople to success, lead them by example
Don’t think that your sales process is perfect – it needs to be renovated all the time
Don’t hide in your office, crunching numbers – delegate and invigorate yourself

The magic of the “Not-to-do” list

Think of your “to do” list. It takes a lot of work to get things done. Chances are that you are starting the day with 7-10 major action items and you are lucky if you were able to cross off the first three items by the end of the day. Start a fresh “to-do” list every day. Don’t agonize, prioritize.

The “Not-to-do” list doesn’t change every day. This list doesn’t take more work on your part; it will create less work for you. It helps you recognize new patterns. It helps you prevent self-defeating actions. Like Michelangelo chipped away all the unnecessary marble from a granite block to create a masterpiece, your “not-to-do” list will bring out the best in you.