In our line of work we list and sell hotels. In your line of work you may sell some other kind of product or you may work for a company that manages, sells, manufactures, consults or any other manner of business. One point is crystal clear though. We are all salesman and saleswomen. I don’t care what your job is or what title you have, we are all in sales. Even if you never touch a product in a sales pitch, you are still selling your talent, personality, wisdom, influence and leadership. Every time you pick up the phone at work, you are selling regardless of your job classification.

In every line of sales or work there is usually one or two things you must do to continue having a job. If you did everything else accept those few things, you would eventually lose your job, title or position. Our one thing is listing new business/hotels for sale. For us there really isn’t a second thing. If you do only that one thing, you will succeed in our business. It is that simple yet seemingly so very complicated to do.

In all businesses it is so easy to lose focus and get caught up in busy work instead of the very thing you need to do. The busy work or non-essential activities are like cutting the grass and painting the shutters on a house that is falling apart on the inside. It looks good from the outside but is failing on the inside.

In your line of work there is a very few (1-3) factors or things you must stay on top of or must do to remain a productive producer in your company. I used to have this friend that managed a large grocery store and each day there were 2-3 financial factors he needed to know at all times. He carried a piece of paper with those numbers in his pocket and memorized them several times a day so he would be fluent with the facts when his regional manager called. Pretty smart right? Knowing the main factors your superiors want and finding out the answers in advance is not only smart, it is also called selling yourself.

So if it holds true that we are sales people and that we all continue to interview for a job every time we pick up the phone or answer an email, it would be smart to know what is most important and focus your attention on that. KT