The Boring Path to Sales Success
Everyone’s looking for the secret sauce in sales. The magic bullet. The revolutionary approach that will 10x their numbers overnight.
But here’s the thing: the path to sales success isn’t sexy. It’s not about finding the perfect hack or discovering some revolutionary LinkedIn automation tool. It’s about embracing what I call “focused simplicity.”
Think about planning a trip to a new city. You don’t start by visiting every street and alley. You pick the neighborhoods that matter, the spots worth your time. That’s what proper territory planning looks like. Start with your map of 400 accounts, then systematically narrow it down to the 50 that actually deserve your attention. It’s not about casting the widest net – it’s about fishing where the fish are.
Your account focus document isn’t just another corporate deliverable destined to collect digital dust. It’s your compass. When I see salespeople struggling with prioritization, it’s usually because they’re working without direction. Set 100-200 clear sub-goals across your accounts, aim to hit 70% of them, and suddenly you’ve got clarity. No more random acts of sales.
Now, about those multi-channel cadences everyone loves to talk about. Here’s what nobody tells you: consistency beats creativity every time. Your perfectly crafted, AI-generated email means nothing if it’s not part of a systematic approach. Think of it like tending a garden – you don’t plant seeds and immediately expect flowers. You water, you wait, you tend, you repeat.
The technology piece? Keep it simple. You don’t need seventeen different tools with overlapping features. A good carpenter doesn’t blame their tools, and they certainly doesn’t overcomplicate their toolbelt. Pick your core stack – something like Apollo.io for leads, HubSpot for CRM, Calendly for scheduling – and master it.
But here’s what really matters: the boring basics. The consistent processes. The humble mindset of always learning. While everyone else is chasing the next big thing, the top performers I know are doing the fundamentals better than anyone else.
Success in sales isn’t about reinventing the wheel. It’s about being willing to do the simple things that everyone knows they should do, but few actually will.