Fix Your Sales MOJO: 5 Fast Tips

Your mom was right: You can’t change the world, but you can change yourself.

If you’re gotten stuck with some weak sales mojo, it might be time for some behavioral changes. Here are five to get you started.

1. Ask better questions (and start with yourself). People who ask themselves "active" questions on a regular basis have reported more happiness, more meaning in their lives, and better relationships. Here are the active questions you should be asking yourself regularly:

• Did I do my best to increase my own happiness?
  
• Did I do my best to find meaning?
  
• Did I do my best to be engaged?

By stopping and thinking about these three things, they’ll become a more naturally important part of your life–and this will directly impact your mojo.

2. Be intentional. Great change comes from intentional behavior and constant questioning. In addition to the above questions, you should always be asking yourself work-related questions like this: What’s my mission? Who’s my customer? What does my customer consider valuable? Great sales work is about helping customers achieve their goals. The more you make it about them, the more effective you’ll be.

3. Follow the pros. People who make genuine, positive change in their lives have three things in common. One is the courage to look inside and measure yourself. The second is humility: Stop trying to be perfect and admit that you can get better. The third is discipline–and it might be the hardest. It takes discipline to be tenacious, to constantly come back to something, to follow up, to keep working on it.

4. Challenge yourself. Never landed a big sale? It’s time to start thinking bigger. Expand your vision of what’s possible by forcing yourself to think bigger and better. Challenge the people around you as well to do things differently as well.

5. Limit your own input. If you want to change yourself, stop self-sabotaging and stereotyping yourself. If you say, “That’s just the way I am,” then that’s the way you’ll always be. Change starts with you.

Bonus tip: If someone gives you a great idea, tell them as much; don’t always try to improve it to make it "your own." Doing so will cut their commitment level–because what could have been a great idea or solution is now your idea, not theirs. Help people commit to their own ideas, make it about them ... and your sales mojo will thank you for it.

This blog is based on a recent conversation I had with Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Marshall is also an author, speaker, and expert on coaching, personal performance and on the ability to change your life. Click to access the full audio recording.