Urgency - Even when urgency may not be present

Be urgent!:

Transitioning now to the final building block of my ELU Squared pyramid. Over the past five weeks, we have looked at five of The Six Characteristics of the Champion Sales Professional. We have focused on (above all else) energy management (as opposed to time management), we have an understanding of enthusiasm as it relates to top sales people, we went old school with likability, we love what we do and we know it well, and then last week we talked about being unique so that your clients and prospects always remember you. This final piece, urgency - even when urgency may not be present, is perhaps the least understood of the six characteristics.

I think I first learned about urgency from my good friend and the very talented Ricky May. Ricky has had an amazing career in the sports business, ranging from minor league baseball (Durham Bulls) to college athletics (University of Louisville) to auto racing (Valvoline Oil and NASCAR). When I was first starting my career in sales, Ricky and I would speak by phone almost every day and the first words out of his mouth would always be: "Did you sell anything today?" It is really a pretty good question to ask yourself everyday if you have a sales job. It gets right to the heart of the matter, doesn't it?

If you read these short essays on a regular basis, and if your career is sales (or marketing) let me ask you a question and I will pick it back up tomorrow. What does it mean to apply urgency, even when urgency may not be present?