Activity Management Best Practices: The Three Principles of SAM

When someone asks you for the “key” to success in doing anything, you can’t help but feel pressure and expectation that the next thing that comes out of your mouth is going to make a wonderful difference in the recipient’s life. Recently, I had a similar experience.

A longtime friend of mine asked me for that one piece of advice that I can give her that will help her manage her time better and be successful in “sales” as she re-enters the workforce. The first thing that came to mind was, “You need to learn the Three Principles of SAM.”

There are some principles that are ageless and the principles of SAM fall into that category, so I thought they were worth sharing with those of you who are new to the sales profession and to remind the seasoned veterans in the industry. Assembled during the early days of the company from the experiences of our clients and that of our own, they have not changed since inception and they are just as true during recessions as they are in boom times.

Principle 1: Sales is a Number Game

This is deep-rooted advice given to an aspiring sales person. While the methods for making contact may change, from in person to phone, from email to even Twitter and Facebook, the message is the same: If you want to make sales, you need to get in front of people; if you want to increase sales, you need to get in front of more people. It is a matter of quantity and playing the percentages.

Principle 2: Quality Activities Produce Quality Results

Another fundamental truism, this should be followed with one caveat: eventually. While it may not happen right away “we reap what we sow” in virtually every aspect of life, but in sales you can quantify, prove it, and take it to the bank. If you don’t like the results you’re getting, you simply need to improve the quality (and quantity) of your activities. To think otherwise is known as the definition of insanity.

Principle 3: What Gets Measured Tends to Get Done

The only thing that I would add today is “…and improved”. This principal is not limited to any one industry. It can be applied to fishing or farming, marketing or medicine, and from sports to sales.

If you can measure it you can manage it.

There you have it, three core principles of quantity, quality and measurement. May they make a wonderful difference to your business…and your life.