Weekly Sales Tips
One of the mistakes many salespeople make is that they fail to take the time to study important trends, such as:
- economic ones
- market ones
- technology ones
- buyer attitudes
- product evolution
- service needs/expectations
- buying groups
- competitor approaches
There are many more, but I am sure you get the point. If you knew what the world was going to look like in five, ten or even twenty years do you see the benefit of positioning yourself or your business today so that you could take positive advantage of them and experience greater success as these trends come to fruition in the future? I can tell you that over 75 percent of my business today and for the past thirty-five years has come from only six major industries – and I selected those industries in 1973. Was it luck? I am not that lucky. Was it brilliance? I am not that smart. No, it was research into what I believed at the time would be long term trends. That decision years ago has permitted me to keep my new sales acquisition costs to a minimum for over thirty-five years and allow me to focus most of my effort and resources to ensuring success year in and year out. Yes, there were a few years where these industries (markets) tended to fall short of my projections, but over the long haul the benefits more than outweighed the downside.
How did I do it? I still do it today. I read the books, articles, case studies – whatever I can get my hands on – by the futurists. Who are they? Here are a few of my favorites:
Marvin Cetron
Roger Herman
Carolyn Corbin
John Naisbitt
William Strauss
Willis Harman, PHD
Paul Kennedy
Daniel Burrus
Pine/Gilmore
William Bridges
Do you want to outsell the competition in the future? Do you want to guarantee your future career or business success? Then I recommend you read at least 2 books a year by any of the notable futurists.
You have nothing to lose.