Many of you know my passion is running, specifically longer distances, such as 15ks, half marathons, and marathons. And, I have spent most of my life in Chicago, where my running was on flat terrain and hills were going over speed bumps. Moving to Nashville a couple of years ago proved an altogether different running experience, consisting of serious and consistent hills. This new terrain required I adopt different on and off-road training techniques in preparation for running races. I did engage a coach to help me - (more on that later)
This reminds me of the current business environment. Imagine you're running a marathon through a landscape that's constantly changing. One moment you're on solid ground, the next, you're navigating a windy and rocky path, and then suddenly, you find yourself on a fast, downhill slope only to find yourself staring at the next hill you’re going to need to conquer. It really is akin to the world of sales today: a perpetual marathon through the ever-changing landscape of technology, customer expectations, and market dynamics, with artificial intelligence (AI) leading the hilly way!
Just as runners adjust their training and approach based on the terrain, the most successful sales professionals and leaders are those who build discipline habits that allow them to pivot quickly and with precision, and harness the power of AI and other emerging technologies as the secret to winning the race.
But how do you build such discipline, especially in an era where the only constant is change? The answer lies in understanding the transformative power of the right habits, and the role they play in achieving sustained excellence.
1. Deliberate Practice
Building disciplined habits lies in deliberate practice. It's about creating a daily regimen of practicing the tasks that drive success. In sales, this is anything from meticulous market research to personalized client outreach to account plans. These habits serve to turn goals (ie. Quotas and profit) into achievable milestones. Do I like doing lunges? No. Do I do them deliberately to manage the hills? Yes.
At Butler Street, we know that successful habits for sales and recruiting teams include deliberate practice around messaging, objection handling, and effective questioning. Companies who make role practice a part of their operating model without fail find so many benefits that other companies do not. Benefits such as faster ramp-up time for new hires, more precision into market trends, best-practice sharing, shorter cycle times, and increased win ratios to name a few.
Of the hundreds of companies we work with, the ones whose leaders embrace this concept and develop discipline habits around them outpace the market year in and year out!
2. Embracing AI: An Ally, Not an Adversary
As AI reshapes the sales landscape, embracing it as an ally, an assistant if you will, is crucial. Leverage AI tools to free up valuable time, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: building relationships. It's not about replacing the human touch; rather, it's about enhancing your capabilities to serve clients more effectively and efficiently.
AI + EQ + H = Success
Integrating AI into your daily habits—using it to streamline processes, personalize communications, and anticipate customer needs—can become a powerful asset in your sales arsenal. We not only deliberately role-practice as a team, we do so using ChatGPT every week!
We know there is A LOT, (understatement of the year) to absorb when it comes to keeping up with AI. Butler Street has adopted a disciplined habit of sorting through this information, so you don’t have to. Each week, we have a requirement to share one thing we’ve learned about AI tools that can increase our productivity, drive revenue, or potentially change the landscape of how business is conducted. We have already created client workshops to share these insights and we’ve incorporated the utilization of ChatGPT into our sales, leadership, recruiting, and account management training, which we constantly update. As of now, we have over 15 use cases built into our Sales Effectiveness training alone.
3. Don’t wait until you're injured
I mentioned at the beginning of this blog that I engaged a running coach. I did so, not because I was proactive about building disciplined habits around running – heck, I’d been running for decades, so what did I really need to be “coached” on? I did so because I got injured and had torn meniscus surgery. I didn’t want to trade my running shoes for walking shoes and thus sought out the help of an expert coach who helps athletes run pain-free. To my surprise, there were many things I needed to change about my workouts, my fueling, and my practice runs, to ensure I could handle distance running in multiple terrains without getting sidelined due to injuries.
All too often sellers don’t see it, and sales leaders wait until their team is truly injured before they consider investing in them.
All self-improvement requires a disciplined approach to regularly setting aside time for skill development, reflection, and feedback.
We can help. Knowing the path to success is paved with disciplined habits, a proactive embrace of AI technology, and an unwavering commitment to personal growth, Partnering with Butler Street will get you to the finish line quickly and with great strength. Contact us to discuss our training options and view our online programs.