Finding a quality person to fill a position is not an easy job. Although many people think they can be effective in sales, the reality is that few can do it well. Even more amazing is how many employers want capable salespeople, but are not willing to compensate them accordingly or invest in their development.

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I once read a survey conducted by the employment organization, Manpower. They polled 32,000 employers in 23 countries. The results indicated that the number-one position they had trouble filling was not specialized like an engineer or accountant as some would expect, but, rather, sales representatives. Since competition in retail is not going to go away, the struggle to find quality employees is only going to get tougher.

This means that we need to focus even more on the on-going development of salespeople, not just their entry-level training. When I have challenged employers with this information, I am amazed at the kind of response they give me.

Some will comment on how they don’t want to invest in someone who can quit on them at any time. Unfortunately, if this is the belief system held by an employer, there really are far bigger issues. Any employer who is not willing to invest in a person’s ongoing development, especially in a field such as sales, is not an employer worth working for.

I don’t believe it is the sole responsibility of the employer to develop the skills of their salespeople. The employee must also continue to grow. Many argue that they do not believe they are paid what they’re worth. Therefore, they question why they should invest in themselves, since the company isn’t paying them enough in the first place. Employers need to recognize that any salesperson with this attitude will never be better than average at best.

High-performing salespeople are successful because they have not relied solely on their company to supply training. They have made an investment into their own development.

Therefore, the question that must be considered is this: What is the right level of on-going development a salesperson needs to perform at a high level? Unfortunately, there is no uniform answer, although I would venture to say that there are probably less than five percent of all salespeople receiving the correct amount.

I believe that the answer lies not in the level of time or money spent developing somebody, but on the continuous results that person is achieving. It is important to remember that self-development must be on-going, not just when the person is falling behind. The best time to train is when things are going well. The person will be more relaxed and open to ideas, instead of being in a panic mode of trying to find short-term solutions. In the end, the salesperson and their employer must determine how much continual development is needed.

Are good salespeople still in demand? Absolutely. The question is, “Are employers willing to find them, compensate them accordingly and continually invest in their development?”

The Beginning of the Workday Sets a Tone

The first 30 minutes of the workday will set the tone for the entire day. For most people, the first half hour of the day consists of settling into the office routine by grabbing a cup of coffee, checking the internet, and, of course, chatting with others. Now, I will never be one to say we have to avoid coffee and/or socializing, but I will be the first to say it is advantageous to put these activities aside until later.

One of the ways that top-performing salespeople separate themselves from others is by effectively using the first 30 minutes of the day. It is highly beneficial to your productivity to know exactly what you are going to accomplish during this period. Therefore, you must determine the day before what you intend to do when you first arrive in the morning.

For anyone in sales, this means one thing: start the day by making a minimum of three sales calls before you do anything else.

To begin using this strategy, your objective today (and every day in the future) should be to identify three people you want to call first thing tomorrow morning. There is no better way to start the day than by calling customers. If you are the type of person who arrives in the office early, your phone calls will wind up going straight to voice mail. Great! In fact, using voice mail is an effective way to demonstrate to others that you are a hard-working individual and you take your relationships seriously. For those of you who have a large number of clients, this is also a perfect way to personally reach out to them, while not having to wind up in a long, drawn-out telephone conversation.

In addition to beginning the workday more productively, you will also find yourself warmed up to make additional phone calls throughout the day. This will help you overcome a very common problem among anyone in sales: the initial reluctance to make the first call of the day. Many studies have shown that people waste on average 15 minutes each day just getting ready to make that first call. It is ironic to think that you will have made three phone calls in the time it takes the average salesperson to even start making theirs.

An additional benefit of this plan will come when you begin applying this same principle to the first 15 minutes after returning from lunch. Use that time to make three prospecting calls. Again, you will find yourself becoming productive faster and you will be less likely to find yourself at the end of the day looking back to realize that you did not make the phone calls you needed to.

By establishing these habits, you will increase the number of phone calls you make every day from using time that, in the past, was unproductive. Make it part of your routine at the end of each day to identify both the three people you intend to contact the next morning and the three you’ll contact after lunch. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you’ll come up with the names the next day, because the chances of you actually contacting those people will fall dramatically.

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