In the ever-evolving world of sales, moving from being just ‘good’ to being great requires strategy, discipline and persistence and improving your sales professional skills. My introduction to ‘Good to Great’ by Jim Collins happened on the office bookshelf. It made me wonder how I could imbibe some qualities as a BDR myself to make a journey from Good to Great. I drew some inspiration from the business classic and conformed the key principles that can help a sales team to march towards greatness.
Jim Collins has come up with some great concepts in this book, all after an elaborate study. The concept of the book is to understand what great organizations did differently than the good or very good organisations. And these concepts made me think of what sales professionals can take away from here, being one myself. And so, let me put down the four things that stood out to me.
4 Sales Professional Skills That Can Help You Excel
- The Hedgehog Concept:
Passion, economic drive, and excellence – a combination of these three elements sums up the Hedgehog concept. It is crucial to know what our unique value proposition is as a salesperson. To break it down in simpler terms – understanding what the sales professional is passionate about, what economic drivers make them unique, and honing those skills to perfection.
If you think deeply, this can bring a lot of clarity about where you want to stand as a salesperson, what is your strength and how it can support you economically. This clarity gives the confidence to set realistic goals and make wholehearted efforts to reach them.
For example, if I am passionate about supporting tech businesses to sell their services better to other businesses, economically driven by associations that last, and excel in providing the sales services, I see the potential to moving from good to great in my career.
- Level 5 Leadership:
“It’s not that Level 5 Leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious – but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves”, Collins says in the book.
He describes Level 5 Leadership as ‘a potent blend of personal humility and professional will’. Yes, in sales, we are driven by the results. But to get to being great from good is to open yourself to this concept.
A sales professional can be a one-man army. With the ability to prioritize the organization’s success, Level 5 Sales professionals can envision the greater good for the business and hence take steps that are crucial to its success rather than focus on personal gains. These sales professional can grow into team leads, manager and account executives going forward in the career.
- The Flywheel Effect:
This concept is crucial for a BDR in many ways. The Flywheel Effect is the cumulative result of consistent efforts that accelerate results over time. This can be translated as the idea of being resilient and persistent in making efforts that result to win long term wins than short term wins. A fun-fact here: 80% of sales require 5 follow-up calls after the meeting. 44% of sales reps give up after 1 follow-up.
The aim of a BDR is to get the conversations started and that begins with being persistent in efforts. The customer satisfaction might be key here to ensure long term success stories. As Collins puts it, “In building a great company or social sector enterprise, there is no single defining action, no grand program, no one killer innovation, no solitary lucky break, no miracle moment. Rather, the process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant, heavy flywheel, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond.”
- Technology Taming:
In the book, Collins speaks of technology that accelerates the business growth. This translates as being able to adopt what technology has to offer without being reluctant. A lot of the businesses that didn’t accept the newer technologies see a slowed progress until they adapt to the newer ways. For the sales professionals it is crucial to adapt to the newer ways of doing things. A fun fact here – 78% of salespeople using social media outsell their peers.
So, you know where I am going with this – adoption of CRMs or Customer Relationship Management Systems. These systems are a recordkeeping for the sales. You keep on updating these systems with the activities you’re engaging in while you’re prospecting, reaching out and closing deals. The right use of the CRMs can elevate you from good to great.
While reading this book, I had so many ideas to put in my blog. These 4 ideas though, I believe, resonate the most with me as a BDR. This profession demands to be on your toes and never back down from what can push you to be the best. And when concentrating on certain points can help you be successful in calling the shots as a sales professional, I don’t see why anyone would be reluctant. The concepts mentioned in this blog are perfect for personal resolutions for 2024. And if you’re looking for a great (not just good) BDR, get in touch with me here.
