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It’s long been an attractive prospect for salespeople to ‘go with their gut’ feeling. There’s something quite satisfying about the reliance on instinct, maybe because it suggests some kind of God-given aptitude for sales that kicks in and guides your way. It says: “I’m a salesperson. I’ve got this.”

A common worry salespeople face on a day to day basis is that deep down we know sales is not rocket science. When understood properly and with the right sales process in place let’s be honest it’s pretty simple. But as is frequently reiterated by Messer’s Durham and Lane, ‘often the best things are’.

 How is it that some businesses continue to grow, even in volatile economic times? What are the magic ingredients that separate sustainable businesses from those that crash and burn when the going gets tough? A key part of the answer to these questions is having a clear strategy that leaders and their teams can get behind. 

While keeping the wheel of new customer generation turning is vital, developing long-term relationships must not be underrated. In fact, nurturing clients for the long term is proven to be eight to ten times more cost effective than simply securing quick wins.

In the opinion of many sales and ethics don’t go together. In fact, the general view is that salespeople engage in exaggeration, stretch the truth about product benefits or availability and push people into a purchase they don’t need. Unfortunately, such coldblooded salespeople still exist, but they will never turn out to be successful in the long-run.