The answer to your sales challenges IS NOT to stick your head in the sand!

Recently I received an email from a sales trainer that was so terrible in its backwardness and so stuck in the 1990s that it pained me. 

In the email there was fear of new distribution channels, concern and fear about technology, and an overall unease with the pace of modern business. 

Which if you only see this kind of thing once, you can write off, but, unfortunately, it isn't an unusual thing for many of the people that are running around selling sales "solutions," "training," or "leadership." 

What I fear is that there are a lot of well intentioned young sales and marketing professionals that are being tainted by the "musings" and "thoughts" of people like this that fear technology and fear change. 

This fear of change often manifests itself in lowered sales, dumb success measurements, and an overall dejected attitude about sales.

Here's the real deal: your sales challenges and issues aren't going to be overcome by sticking your head in the ground and pretending that the world isn't changing around you. 

Instead of fearing change, embrace it.

Here are a few good ideas that can help you make change your friend, not an enemy. 

1. Don't embrace a one-size fits all approach to sales: One thing I have noticed this year as I have been working with sports teams a lot more is an over reliance on a one-size fits all approach to marketing and sales. Which mirrors the way that I have seen one-size fits all approaches to development in non-profits. And, a complete misunderstanding of sales and marketing in a lot of technology startups. 

The key about all of these is that they embrace one worldview and never let anything intrude on that territory. 

But more now than ever before, your approach to sales must be flexible and driven by success and the results that are meaningful for you. 

This means that you need to know exactly what your goals are; what exactly your measures of success need to be; and, how to adapt to change. 

So I want you to step back, understand what your sales organization needs for success and set your goals and activity measurements accordingly. 

2. Embrace the right metrics of success: In the current world of sales success, activities seem to rule. In fact, I wrote about this last week. 

This needs to stop!

Activities are comfortable right?

You can feel good because you made 100 cold calls to an undifferentiated list.

You can feel good because you set up a meeting, even if the person can't ever possibly say no. 

And, the list goes on and on and on.

Instead, you have to do the hard work of understanding what exactly are the key stats that you need to hit to drive your success.

Is it meetings with a certain type of prospect?

Is it conversations?

Is it calls?

Is it engagements?

Whatever it is, make sure it isn't something that is comfortable but it is something that delivers you closer to your goals. 

3. Embrace change: This is a companion to both of the above points, but it deserves its own specific point. 

Why?

Because that is the point of the evolution of sales and the interaction between sales, technology, and the market. 

This is going to require flexibility of mindset and flexibility in goals, but it will pay off as you learn more about your sales team, your prospects, and the way to have impact in your market. 

What this doesn't mean is to embrace every new blip or bleep from pundits that are pedaling one worldview at the costs of all others. It means learning and thinking because you are engaging with thoughtful leaders and thinkers. 

A few that I look to learn from are Lindsey Boggs, Max Altschuler, Paul Ratner, and Heather Morgan. 

But more importantly than these people, be comfortable testing, learning, and adjusting, because that will guarantee that your sales challenges don't become excuses that cause you to put your head in the sand.