According to HCI, a lack of clarity is killing organizations. When people are unclear of their role and expectations, things start to fall apart.
But what about clarity at the individual level? Why is it important that YOU have clarity as you move throughout the thrilling world of B2B sales?
Don’t worry, you’ll get all the clarity you need in this “definitive guide to clarity” today. I’m laying it all on the table. So let’s get right into it.
What is Clarity in Sales?
Clarity is knowing where you’re at and where you want to go. It’s that simple.
But wait… if it’s that simple, why doesn’t everyone have clarity?
Because nobody gives it thought! The truth is, most salespeople are getting by just fine. They make their $80-$100K yearly and call it “success.” And since they think they have arrived, they can fill any down time or spare time with distractions (Netflix is the death of us).
What they don’t realize is they can easily be making $180-$280K — and making a bigger impact on the world — if they fought for clarity.
Yes, we do have to fight for clarity. It doesn’t come easy. We have to sit down and do the work of soul-searching, vision-casting, and taking stock of our strengths and weaknesses. But the work is worth its weight in gold.
Life or Death: The Importance of Clarity
When you don’t have clarity, you have indecision. And indecision will plague your career and your life. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the greatest threat to man is indecision. It keeps us on the sidelines when we could be on the pitch with shots on goal.
But when you finally do get clarity, you will find a fire burning inside of you, a flame of hunger to accomplish your life’s goals. Clarity brings a laser-like focus to salespeople. It gives you the discipline to put in the sales activities that are necessary for success. That might look like cold calling SMBs with a mid-ticket offer. Or it might look like forging lasting relationships with Fortune 500 decision makers.
So we know that clarity of purpose is vital for your future. That’s been established. Now here are the steps to take to fight for your clarity.
Where You Must Have Clarity
Clarity of your team size – identify whether you want to work on (or lead!) a small team, a medium-sized team, or a large team. If you’re entrepreneurial, do you want to run a small business or do you want to scale a 7-figure firm?
Clarity of culture – identify the type of culture you want to work in or build. Is it collaborative and cutting-edge? Be specific, down to the interior of your office space.
Clarity about your market – what sector can you drive the most value and help most? The more clear you are here, the more your offer will resonate and the more deals you’ll close. You must know your market.
Clarity about your sales process – Understand your sales process from prospecting to the first cold-call touch, all the way to ink-on-paper and the onboarding process. Get clarity here and plug any holes you have. Better yet, consider thoughtfully and intentionally dismantling and rebuilding your sales process from the ground up.
Clarity about your offer – What do you sell? How does it actually help people and organizations? When you deliver demos, be clear about your offer and how it can transform your prospects’ lives.
Clarity about your standards – Are you happy living in a one-bedroom apartment, or do you want more out of life? Chances are, you want more. And the great thing about life is that we get exactly what our standards require, no more and no less. So raise your standards and elevate your life.
How to Fight for Clarity, Step-by-Step
Step 1: Take a day off. No, seriously, take a day off that’s solely devoted to finding clarity. Call it a personal clarity conference. You need the space to breathe and the time to lay it all on the table. It’s simply impossible to do this between cold calls, sales meetings, follow-ups, and other daily demands. You must carve out a full day for it.
Step 2: Have gratitude. Think about how far you’ve come in your sales career already. Maybe you started as an SDR and moved up to AE and now you’re a manager. Or maybe you’re just starting out on your sales journey. Either way, you have lots to be thankful for. Have gratitude for your career, for family, friends, and any supportive people around you. An attitude of gratitude is a difference-maker. It’s the very foundation of clarity.
Step 3: Create a vision board. It’s time to vision-cast your future success. There are free vision-board makers online, allowing you to put on a “board” a collage of images and phrases that resonate with your soul. You might include pictures of family or ferraris, of a house in the country or a penthouse suite in the city. This will be highly personal to you – think of it like a fingerprint of your deepest wants, desires, and passions.
Step 4: Do a S.W.O.T. analysis of yourself. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. Where do you excel? Where do you fall short? What skills do you need to gain? Taking the time to put this on paper is critical in the clarity-finding process. Be honest. Try to think of yourself from an objective third-person point of view. Once this is on paper, you’re ready for the next step.
Step 5: Draw a simple venn diagram of your passions and strengths, because it’s time to see where your passions (vision board) and strengths (S.W.O.T. analysis) overlap. Where they do overlap — that’s a good indication of the direction you should head!
Final Words
Clarity is worth the fight. It puts you on a path and gives you direction in life. Without it, you are a ship lost at sea.
So follow the simple five-step process I’ve outlined above. Take a day off dedicated to finding clarity, express true gratitude, create a vision board, do a S.W.O.T. analysis of yourself and your character, then put it all together with a simple venn diagram.
Do that and you’ll have all the clarity you need. Just know that it’s wise to repeat this process at least once a year. Your values and attitudes toward life will change as you age. So constantly fight for clarity to guide your future in sales.
Until next time…
Johnny-Lee Reinoso