Why Your Strategy For Sales Success Is Failing

I worked for 11 years at a large corporation.

When I started my own company in 1999, I discovered very quickly that my most important priority was to gain tremendous clarity on my new organization’s strategic direction.

Up to that point in my career, strategy was something that was always dictated to me by other leaders.

A critical component for sales success: STRATEGY.

So, let me ask you this: Do you determine your own strategy, or does someone else define that strategy for you? Is it yours, or was it decreed to you?

Sometimes, when we work for other people, we think our strategy must be dictated by others, and that we are charged with simply executing on the company’s objectives.

Hopefully, your company has strategic plans and priorities; successful companies always do. But as a sales professional you must determine, create and develop your own strategic plan.

Sit down and ask yourself, “What if I were a business? What would it mean to think in terms of ME, Inc.? What would I want that business to look like?”

You would probably consider issues such as:

• How do I grow the business?
• What is the appropriate financial management?
• What is this company’s tactical direction?
• Who are the people to align myself with?
• What is the “culture” of ME, Inc.?

Sadly, many people stumble along through their career doing nothing more than adopting other people’s strategies.

The fact of the matter is that people spend more time thinking about their vacation than they think about their vocation.

I want to challenge you to seriously consider where you are going with your career. It’s not just about the next job or the next promotion. It’s about growing intentionally.

What are you doing to maximize your value to the organization? What are you doing to strategically grow your career? Who is in charge?

Take control of your own success!

Build your own strategy. Ask yourself these very important questions:

• What does success look like for me in my career?
• What do I need to do to prepare myself for that success?
• Who do I need to surround myself with? Who are the specific people I want to spend more time with?
• What resources are available to promote my strategy?