A Mission to Increase Sales and Get More Clients
Posted by: Cheryl Clausen in sales coaching, tags: get clients, increase sales, sales coaching“Look out! Here she comes she’s a woman on a mission” I’ve heard those words more than once in reference to me when I was entirely focused on accomplishing an objective. And I have to confess it’s true.
Once I set my sights on accomplishing something I’ve got the determination of a bull dog. I put my blinders on (as in maintaining full focus) my head down (as in I don’t know the word quit) and GO (as in taking massive unrelenting action). Telling me it’s not possible translates into it’s not possible THIS way SO there must be ANOTHER way. To me the key is just finding the right path.
This unyielding mind-set can drive people nuts because they can’t figure out why I just won’t give up. To me it’s just what you have to do to get things done. Because… I have a mission.
Mission = Will Get Done
One thing I want you to realize as you think about your mission is a mission isn’t something you wish will happen. It isn’t something you hope will happen. It isn’t something it sure would be nice IF it happened. A mission is a line in the sand objective that WILL happen come hell or high water.
Your mission must be that important to you. The entire Strategic Sales Master Plan process is very personal and very emotional and very motivating. You are doing this for yourself, no one else. You can fudge a little to other people sometimes… Nothings wrong, everything is just fine.
You can make excuses for yourself to other people sometimes… I was just too tired, or it was just too hard.
You can’t fudge or excuse your way out of this. This is drop dead serious.
Hands & Feet
A good mission statement makes it clear how YOU will move your hands and feet to accomplish something. This can be either implicitly or explicitly stated. Bottom line though your mission statement must leave no doubt in your mind exactly what you have set out to accomplish.
In 1990 Wal-Mart had a mission to “Become a $125 billion company by 2000″. Now that’s explicit.
3M had a mission “To solve unsolved problems innovately”, less explicit yet crystal clear.
You can measure a good mission statement. Wal-Mart can obviously measure $125,000,000,000. However, 3M can also measure each problem solved even though it isn’t explicit how many problems they want to solve.
A good mission is in alignment with your values. Honesty and integrity should always be important. Reinforce your values in the way you accomplish your objective.
Sandlow Law Firm’s mission “To provide fair, honest, and equal representation to those in need of legal aid” leaves no doubt about their values.
A good mission statement explicitly or implicitly defines how you will accomplish what you set out to do.
ADM’s mission “To unlock the potential of nature to improve the quality of life” clearly defines how they accomplish their objective.
As you write your mission think about:
- how you have to act to get it done
- how you will accomplish it
- how you’ll measure progress
- how you’ll do it in a way that fits your values
- how it impacts your decisions and choices
Let’s see how 3M’s mission statement “To solve unsolved problems innovately” fits our criteria.
Do they know how to move their hands and feet (actions)? Yes. They have to find problems they can solve, and then create solutions for those problems.
Do they know what they have to accomplish? Yes. Innovative solutions.
Do they know how to measure progress? Yes. Each problem identified and solved can be counted, and measured for effectiveness.
Do they know how their mission fits their values? Yes. Each solution must be innovative. Innovation is one of their core values.
Do they have a way to evaluate decisions and choices? Yes. The problem must not have an existing solution. The solution must be innovative. Decisions must be in alignment with those criteria. One other thing to note. They did not make an allowance for partial solutions or improvements.
Each step you take in this Strategic Sales Master Plan process is like peeling the onion. Each layer helps you gain a better understanding of the “you” you want to become, of the business you want to develop. The more clarity you gain the easier it is, not just to accomplish what you want, but to increase your attractiveness to the people you most want to work with.
By the time we’re finished you’ll know exactly the business you want to be in, how to get there, and how to get clients who are looking for a business just like that.
Now it’s time to get out your Strategic Sales Master Plan and get to work.
Coach Cheryl
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December 11th, 2009 at 8:37 am
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