It doesn’t matter if you’re running a mum & dad startup, an enormous sales team or working for yourself as a basement internet marketer…

Sales Management is critical to your business success.

If you’re one of those people who is passionate about an idea but feeling icky about selling it, then your personal, inner sales management is even more critical.

This article is the 2nd part of a series where I break down a simple psychological formula.

The formula is used by sales and management wizards to lead their teams (and themselves) towards blisteringly hot sales performance… and everything (the reward and impact) that comes with that.

Last time we covered off the 1st step of the formula: “G” (standing for “Great beliefs”)

These were the beliefs that are mandatory for any salesperson dreaming of A-league results.

Today we’re going to look at the second step in the formula:

Reasons to act

It’s 9am, you’ve just arrived at work or your home office. You know, deep in the back of your unconscious, that selling needs to happen today.

We all know that without sales, there is no business.

Nevertheless, you open emails, reorganise your filing system, clean your desk and make a few comfortable calls to friends or suppliers.

You procrastinate.

Why?

Behind every great salesperson is a reason- or five.

These reasons drive the salesperson to get up in the morning early, to make those critical cold calls.

They inspire the salesperson to score another appointment instead of surfing the couch.

Here’s what you need to know:

Every single action we take in our lives is driven by reason.

It’s a simple carrot and stick situation. If we’re contemplating doing something (skydiving, cold calling or asking that pretty girl on a date), we first have to acquire significant reasons why we must do it.

We CAN do a lot of things. We SHOULD do even more things.

How big is your list of things you SHOULD do?

Action only happens when we convince ourselves (via that little voice in our mind) that we MUST do something.

We do this through reasoning… by thinking through all the different carrots and sticks that might motivate us.

Quick tip: It usually takes a bit of stick to get us off the couch and a glimpse of the carrot to keep us going once we’ve started.

But wait, you’ve already got reasons

If you’ve got reasons for making sales but you’re not actually doing it, then you need more reasons. Perhaps you just need reasons that make you feel something.

If you’re in business, you’ve probably got reasons for being there. These are the same reasons for making sales… but if you’ve got a bit of the ol’ cold call reluctance, then you probably need to brainstorm a bunch more.

Here’s what to do:

Ask yourself (or your sales team) the following four questions.

What pain prevents you making sales?

We’re talking emotional or physical pain (or suffering) of any kind. These are the sticks that get in the way of sales… and make the couch look that much more tempting.

Answers would typically include: “Cold calling is scary” and statements like “It’s uncomfortable to ask for an order.”

These are all lame excuses but they’re worth acknowledging all the same.

They are the minor reasons you’re up against as a sales manager – the mental obstacles you must help yourself and others overcome.

The truth is, the discomfort of making a call is enough to stop most people doing it… or at least cause chronic procrastination.

Identify the reasons (the pain) you’re up against and quickly move on to…

What can be gained by making sales?

We’re focusing on the positive stuff with this question. This is the typically easy one that all average sales managers ask… but only the great managers extract super compelling answers.

Have the salesperson focus on their ultimate carrots like financial freedom, tropical holidays, fast cars and rolex watches.

Then, be sure that they have some short term, achievable carrots dangling right in front too.

These could be as simple as a sunday golf game for hitting the week’s target or a five star dinner for winning that big account.

As an entrepreneur, it’s up to you to create your own short and long term carrots.

Many self employed folks make the mistake of skipping short term carrots by waiting for some big payoff in the distant future. While this is exciting, it’s often difficult to maintain consistent motivation and sales activity.

Likewise, most employees require a combination of both carrots – it’s rare to find a sales rep willing to work super hard for a “maybe one-day IPO”.

Vision boards, goal setting and The Secret are all about finding positive reasons (carrots) to take action.

Positivity is seldom all it takes, so move on to the next question…

What will it cost you not to take action?

This is the ultimate stick. This question forces you and your team to look closely at your procrastination habits and think about where they are taking you.

What will procrastination, continued over 5 years, ultimately cost you? Could it cost you your business, your dreams or your self respect?

It’s okay to be negative sometimes (I call it “strategic negativity”) since negative thinking will give you some reasons to get off that couch.

Very often positivity fails… and it’s the fear of failure (or worse; of mediocrity) that causes us to switch from procrastination to action.

So figure it out and make sure all your team know the ultimate mental, physical and financial cost of not taking action.

Go light a fire and then answer question 4…

4. What is to be gained by taking action TODAY?

This final question is very similar to the 2nd one… but with one enormous difference:

It forces you to make today important.

The number one reason behind all sales procrastination is faith in tomorrow. Faith that slacking off today is okay because there is always the day after today.

Sorting out this problem, for you or your team, is as simple as finding a reason why today is more important than tomorrow.

Successful entrepreneurs know that the answer is all about exponential growth. They know that action today creates fantastic results in six months times.

No action for six months creates nothing in six months time – except frustration and regret.

Can you wrap this up?

The four questions you’ve just read provide the starting point for finding all your own reasons. If you want to perform as a sales person, you need reasons why they must.

The second letter in our five step acronym is “R” for “Reasons to Act”

The final question is the most important because all sales happen today (never tomorrow).

Everyone’s reasons are different – since they must be reasons that you personally feel the significance of.

What is your leverage? What can be gained by you taking action today?

As always, your answers are more important than my questions. Let me know what you think in the comment section below.