POST MORTEMS - DO YOU DO THEM ?

Sales Professionals here me loud and clear - do you do post mortems on almost every call - especially face to face calls but even on phone calls or voice mails ? If you don't - you should. Post mortems can have a profound effect on your success. They are probably the best way to measure your improvement and instill the need for constant improvement / continuing education.

I do post mortems for several of my clients and they are always amazed at what they learn and what they hadn't thought of before.

Here's what to do ! Find some time as soon as possible after the interaction you want to analyze and write down exactly what was said by everyone involved (including you). As the customer or potential customer said something / replied to a question / asked a question - what did you say ? What questions did you ask ? Did you give them time to answer ? What could you have said differently ?
Did you offer all your features and benefits - did you get acknowledgement on each benefit ? Did you talk more than the customer ? Define your trial closes - more than one ? When you left the appointment / conversation - do you know exactly where you stand and the next move ? Do you have the ORDER ?

It is your responsibility as a sales professional to accomplish all of that listed above and more. But, none of us are perfect - nor do we remember to do everything correct each time we are in a position to affect a sale. How do you get better ? By critiquing everything you do and challenge yourself to grow and learn from each occasion. An even better consideration is to find another sales profession who likes you and is willing to offer their expertise and run the whole scenario by them. Ask them what they would have done / said / replied had they been in your shoes. It can be very helpful to make this effort often.

Will your ego allow you to be critiqued by yourself ? By others ? This is a great way to learn more about what you can do differently than what you do now. You know what they say about people who do the same thing and expect different results ( as we are reviewing this year's results and next year's goals) !

Onward Sales Professionals !
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Thanks for taking the time to read this week's Perspective. Good Luck and Good Selling !



Challenge yourself to grow ! Challenge yourself to more accountable to yourself and the people who rely on you to make it happen. There isn't one of us who could not be more productive, more focused, more goal oriented, and more open to change - doing things different than what we have ever done before.

Look around for success stories - they are all over the place. Get inspired ! Kick yourself in the butt !