Sales is one of those words that many people have a love-hate relationship with: they love closing deals but hate the stereotype of the hard-sell salesperson.
Joe Pici, COO and co-founder of Pici & Pici Inc., discounts the drawbacks and has capitalized on the plus side of sales. He often finds himself as one of the top picks in sales by Global Gurus, which describes him as a strategist for top sales professionals and a coach specializing in results-driven sales training.
Since 1992, Pici has served as a "catalyst for sales teams and individuals," according to Global Gurus, helping them sharpen their skills for creating appointments and closing sales through his live phone call workshops.
Pici recently shared some insights about how sales affect business growth and what businesses can do to maintain sales momentum with Florida Business Daily.
“When it comes to driving sales, there are key non-negotiables that will determine the success or failure of the business,” Pici said, underscoring that he’s talking about sales, not marketing.
He lists the top one as clarity, saying the company and sales team must be on the same page when it comes to knowing what numbers they want to hit, when they want to achieve those numbers and why they must be met.
Once the goal is clearly established, he says the second non-negotiable comes into play: ambition and self-discipline, two key traits a salesperson must bring to the table.
The others are: accountability, with consistent measuring metrics; great communication skills; consistent lead generation that relies on multiple channels; outbound phone calls to book appointments; quality consultative sales meetings; and understanding how to prioritize and make the best of time management.
“These eight non-negotiables create momentum and will (give) a company an advantage over their competition,” Pici said. Making the most of them will also see companies through an up-and-down economy, he said.
Success in those areas can be parlayed into snowballing sales, but Pici said more is needed.
“Many times, people get into business without understanding exactly what it takes to win consistently in it,” he said, adding that one needs to have some personality traits that will help build a business.
He said two of the defining characteristics to starting a venture are courage and vision.
But that’s just part of the task. The next step, he said, is creating and keeping momentum, requiring a more complicated mindset that showcases tenacity, a willingness to sacrifice and confidence.
“To compete at a high level, the mastery of sales strategies and skills, superior negotiation skills and a complete knowledge of the product/services, and the benefits, value, solutions and results they provide is mandatory,” Pici said.
If Pici’s philosophy sounds like it could benefit your company, check out more of his insights in the book he co-authored, “Sell Naked on the Phone,” or visit Pici & Pici’s website and take a look the types of coaching offered.