The Snails Plight

Have you ever followed a snail? I arrived at the office early and noticed a snail on the glass door of the office. It was interesting watching this little rascal move along its path ever so slowly. Please understand that I wasn’t just watching the snail move. That would have driven me crazy. Snails move at about 2 feet per hour. Since the snail was on the front door of the office moving vertically. I calculate that the snail must have been on his journey for about 10 hours. Snails are most active at night. I was simply monitoring its progress each time I happened to walk past the front door.

Anyway, somehow this snail was climbing the glass door in the front of our office building. I felt a little sorry for the snail because it was on a journey that could only lead to disaster. If snails eat vegetation, then the snail was certainly lost because there wasn’t any vegetation in the area by the door. If it continued upward it would probably fall and someone would inevitably step on him. If snails have eyes to see where they are going, this one must have been blind because there isn’t food on the glass. I learned later that snails have poor eyesight and usually travel in circles.

Staying near the food

I hate to inform you but the snail didn’t make it past lunch time. I don’t know where he went but he didn’t make it. We don’t have to be snails to make similar mistakes. If we want to survive, we must stay near the food. Are you a salesperson who moves slowly through a territory and can’t see where you are going until you get there? This would be like being blindfolded when we make sales calls and not planning where we are going. Look at your daily planner. Will you be going in circles today?

Is there food where you are going?

We understand that snails rely mainly on their sense of touch and smell when finding food because they have very poor eyesight. I don’t know about you, but touching a prospect doesn’t help me too much nor does smelling them. This isn’t the best course of action if we want to be successful salespeople.

Sales planning

Having a good sales plan that includes knowing where to go and who to see for new business is one way to prevent us from the snail’s plight. If we haven’t noticed, the landscape of business is different today than it was just a few years ago. Hopefully we aren’t in the same position as the Snail, moving slowly as we cover new territory and end up with long periods without finding food. Outside salespeople should plan where, who and when they will contact for new business. Before each call we should outline our objectives.

We know where the good food or best prospects are for our business. If we want to know, we simply have to look at our recent sales successes. Our business records are a great resource for this customer analysis. When we profile our customers it makes it easier for us to duplicate our successes. While this might seem like a natural sales exercise, it is often over looked by salespeople. Sales’ planning is one of the best ways to ensure we make the most of our sales time.

The point of this story is to wake up and realize that our sales goal is to find prospects and clients who can use our services. Our quest for success should be refreshed each day as we begin our journey through our sales territory. If you do not know where to go, seek advice and direction before you experience the snails plight.

Submitted by Steve Martinez, Founder of Selling Magic, a company focused on improving sales using technology and Automated Sales Process Management (ASPM). Get more sales tips at our website http://www.sellingmagic.com.