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Let me tell you a little story about Stuart. Stuart has an MBA from one of the best universities in the country. He’s got all the right contacts and he’s just been appointed to a new leadership position in sales. Go, Stuart!

Unfortunately, Stuart has not been able to meet any of the sales targets of his predecessor; a friendly, humble and hardworking man named Bob. No, Stuart! Sure, he’s great on paper, but what could he be doing wrong? I heard a rumor that he even did his thesis around sales in this particular market. Son, where did things go wrong?!

To understand the issue, let’s learn a little bit more about Stuart. Each morning on the job, he rallies his team and gives motivational talks. He’ll go to meetings when he’s invited, and he reviews and publishes all his reports on time. Hmmm…ok. But did he schedule time to prospect any new clients for the day? Or work with his team to do so? No. Did he strive to hit a certain number of cold calls and follow-ups for the week? Or ensure his team did? No. He is the sales leader, and he makes beautiful presentations with lots of fancy graphs. But did he actually, you know — make the effort to sell or coach his team to do so? No. Well, folks, I think we’ve found the problem.

The biggest sales inhibitor is the same now as it was for the past decade. Many salespeople and sales leaders know what to do but are not willing to do what they know.

Stuart knows he needs to sell and coach to sell to be the sales leader, but he has not prioritized the actual act of selling.

Knowledge + Action = Power

Knowledge is powerless without action. Selling is a skill, and just like any skill it takes practice, discipline, and commitment to be successful.

Just like Stuart, we can know what to do but fail to effectively execute it. We may procrastinate to make those calls and we may even skip that sales workshop to complete that report due next week. However, these actions have real-life repercussions.

Many times, a sales leader or salesperson knows what to say, but the difference between the top sales professional and the bottom salesperson is most often the execution of knowledge. To increase sales, you must hold people accountable for executing the activities needed to be successful. This includes those in sales leadership positions.

Sales leadersrightfully expect that their sales team will hold themselves accountable. But they often are weighed down or easily distracted from doing the main thrust of the job — selling. The power of leadership comes with the expectation that you’ll put in the time to do the job you’re hired to do first. Otherwise, there would be very little need for sales managers.

Knowledge + Execution = Success

To hit and exceed your sales targets you’ve got to get out there and take the business. Yes, the economy isn’t very pretty right now (let’s be honest, there is always something wrong in the world), but there are always prospects out there who still need goods and services. Now more than ever, they’re looking for sales professionals willing to find them, court them and go above and beyond to get the job done.

Like most things in life, something worth having is worth fighting for, so get ready to fight. Create a plan of action and put it to work.

Working in sales is not for the faint of heart; being a sales leader is even harder. But, and this is a big but, if you are willing to practice and commit to doing what you know then you will be successful. Beyond your dreams successful. This is regardless of the economy or any other obstacle.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].