• May 29, 2014
  • Mark LaCour
  • 0

The order in which we put things matters very much. I stole the “mindset, skill sets, and tool kit” framework from my friend Gerhard Gschwandtner over at Selling Power.

Mindset must come first. The reason most salespeople–or sales organizations, as the case may be–fail to produce the results they want is due to their mindset. We produce poor results when we have poor or unhealthy beliefs. The right skills and the right tools in the hands of someone with the wrong mindset are worthless.

Here’s a quick example. Let’s say you have a powerful sales process. Your process helps you better help your clients, and it massively improves your chances of winning. If a salesperson doesn’t believe that the outcomes documented in your process are important, they won’t use it. Teaching them the skills and providing them with the tool are useless.

Skill sets come second. There isn’t any reason to provide someone with the tools without providing them with the training they need to be effective use the tools. Here’s an example that makes this easy to understand.

Let’s say you have a killer, disruptive presentation that helps you to help your dream client to recognize the need to change. That presentation in the hands of someone without the business acumen and situational knowledge to effectively tell the story–and engage in the necessary dialogue–isn’t as valuable as it might be.

Tools are the final part of this equation, even though so many salespeople and sales organizations put tools first. Providing a salesperson who lacks the mindset and skill sets with tools does nothing to help them produce better results. It does, however, provide you with the feeling that at least you are doing “something.”

Have you ever seen someone without the skills or tools succeed simply because they had the right mindset, taking massive action without really being properly equipped?

Do you know someone who attended a training or a conference where they learned something but then failed to produce better results because they didn’t adopt the mindset?

Have you ever bought “tools” or “apps” believing that they would radically change your results only to be disappointed?

The combination of mindset, skill sets, and tool kits is powerful. Hit reply and share your thoughts, ideas, and stories with me. Where might you need to apply this recipe?

Go into this week with the right mindset above all else!

Anthony Iannarino

www.iannarino.com

P.S. I have some available dates in August for speaking events and keynotes. I have a killer new 1-day workshop on Level 4 Value Creation and Building Consensus for teams. L4VC moves you from transactional to consultative. It helps you create more opportunities, greater wallet share, and improves your margins. If I can help you and your team, email Beth directly at beth@b2bsalescoach.com.

P.P.S. Yesterday I released a new In the Arena podcast with my friend, John Spence. You can listen to the podcast on my site here, or you can subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher. If you go out and subscribe, please consider rating the podcast on iTunes.

P.P.P.S. Last week I sent a note about Audrey, the little girl from China who had just undergone brain surgery. She is doing well, and through your generosity we blasted her family past their goal of raising $10,000. Our little community gave the family about $2,200 of the $11,050 they’ve raised. Thanks so much for your help!

P.P.P.P.S. My friends over at Kitedesk named me one of the 30 most influential people in social selling. They’ve invited me to join 22 people from the list on a webinar on June 10th at 2:00 PM ET, but I am speaking that day. You can register here (http://www.eventbrite.com/e/socsales-jam-2014-the-ultimate-social-sales-playbook-live-tickets-11649531061), and you will also receive a copy of The Ultimate Social Sales Playbook: Tips from 45 of the World’s Most Influential Social Sales Experts.

 

Contributor Anthony Iannarino is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and consultant. He writes daily at www.thesalesblog.com and you can subscribe to his newsletter at www.thesalesblog.com/newsletter.