3 Skills for Achieving Mastery in Sales

The following is a guest post by John Lee Dumas, host of EOFire and author of The Mastery Journal: Master Productivity, Discipline and Focus in 100 days.

John Lee Dumas is the author of The Mastery Journal

There are several skills you can leverage to help you achieve your sales goals. Things like confidence, patience and determination are a few.

But to really master sales there are three specific skills you need to bring to the table every single day: productivity, discipline and focus.

If you’ve ever ended your day feeling like you were really busy, but you’re not sure what you actually accomplished, then productivity, discipline and focus can turn it all around. Because when you master productivity, discipline and focus, you’ll end every day feeling proud of what you’ve accomplished.

Here’s how to get started with mastering productivity, discipline and focus today.

1. Productivity

Let’s say you start the day knowing that you have to make 50 sales calls, follow up with three potential customers, and send out two contracts.

All of these tasks matter to you and your company, and you accomplishing them in an efficient manner means:

• You have a better chance of gaining new clients,
• You’ve made your potential clients feel important, and
• You’ve contributed to the company.

But what if you start the day not really knowing what you’re going to work on?

Instead, you get to the office, sit down at your desk, and stare at the phone and your computer – wasting time and making zero progress?

These two scenarios are the difference between starting your day to win and starting your day to fail.

The first step to mastering productivity? “Win tomorrow today.”

In order to help make the first scenario your reality every single day, end each of your workdays by writing down the ONE task you will accomplish tomorrow.

Knowing exactly what you’re going to start your workday with will prevent you from wasting precious time trying to figure out what should come first.

2. Discipline

Anyone can write down on a sheet of paper what they want to accomplish. The real question is whether you’ll actually sit down and do the work.

This is where discipline comes into play.

Oftentimes, knowing what you want to accomplish isn’t enough; excuses and procrastination are way too easy to succumb to when you’re not sure how to get the task done.

In order to resist the early onset of excuses and procrastination, start mastering discipline by writing out the individual steps necessary to accomplish the task you’re going to work on.

When you break bigger, complex tasks down into smaller, bite-sized pieces, it becomes much easier to take the first step. And once you take the first step, momentum is on your side, and it will become much easier to continue working on the task at hand. As an example, approaching an entirely new lead list can be daunting, but if you prioritize the lead list by factors like account size or funding it then makes it easier to know who to call first. By prioritizing leads, you can not only call 50 prospects, but you can dial the hottest prospects first.

3. Focus

FOCUS: Follow One Course Until Success.

If you struggle with distractions or find yourself feeling “busy” (but have little to show for it), then mastering focus will drastically change how you work – and how much work you’re able to accomplish.

Mastering focus starts with time blocking.

Salespeople often have to accomplish a wide range of tasks during the day including lead generation, updating CRM, answering emails, dialing new prospects, follow-up and more. This may seem overwhelming, but time blocking is giving yourself a set period of time to accomplish the task at hand. So instead of giving yourself “until you finish”, give yourself 30 minutes and actually set a timer to hold yourself accountable.

If there are distractions that pop up or you have an idea you don’t want to forget, then write it down on a sheet of paper, and then immediately get back on task.

Productivity, discipline and focus are 3 skills you must bring to the table every single day if you’re looking to achieve mastery in sales.

With a clear picture of the specific tasks you’re going to work on, a plan to help you gain momentum and make progress, and the type of FOCUS that can’t be broken, you’ll be at the top of your sales game in no time.

If you’re looking for a daily guide that will help you master productivity, discipline and focus, The Mastery Journal is for you: Master productivity, discipline and focus in 100 days! Learn more at TheMasteryJournal.com