The Sales Archaeologist

The September 5^th edition of Newsweek had a great article about Steve Jobs. The news last week that he is no longer going to officially lead the pack at Apple shook markets and a fan base around the world. He is a unique individual and a true business visionary – many would say there are but a handful of men or women left like that these days.

There is much we can learn from Mr. Jobs and the article provided 10 lessons related to how Steve built his empire, as I read them it occurred to me that as a sales organization or as sales professionals these same lessons are valuable and have much merit. You will enjoy reading how Apple used these principles in Newsweek but here is my sales application of these 10 rules:

1. Go for Perfect – too many sales people are content with quota or even below quota. Too many managers and CEO’s tolerate that. What would happen if the new bar was perfect?
2. Tap the Experts – organizations and people depend on outside experts to help with many areas of their life and of their business, except sales. Why?
3. Be Ruthless – you must have the bulldog mentality with every deal and on every day.
4. Shun Focus Groups – Steve said that “people don’t know what they want” and this is true. Good sales people guide prospects and create needs.
5. Never Stop Studying – enough said.
6. Simplify – there is a good chance that your sales process, your product, your pitch and the structure of your organization are too complicated.
7. Keep Your Secrets – the purpose of this was to create “Buzz” – is there sufficient buzz around your offerings? Are your people excited and enthused to share this prized information with prospects?
8. Keep Teams Small – managers can only effectively manage between 5 – 8 sales people. How do you line up?
9. Use More Carrot than Stick – both with prospects and with employees.
10. Prototype to the Extreme – before going to market it had to be great. Before getting on the phone or going on a call have you strategized? Did you role play?

So how are you or your team doing when it comes to imitating Apple? Rather just ask that question passively and dig no deeper why not try this:

If you are a CEO or a VP of Sales Grade your Sales Force

If you are an individual try our Sales Achievement Grader