I know you’re too busy selling to blog, be on Twitter, input shit into salesforce, work the booth, watch Ted videos, attend the networking event, etc. I know, you’re the shit and you don’t have time for those non selling activities.

But guess what?

All that stuff IS selling.

The lesson learned in that killer Ted talk about influencing would have helped you in that sales presentation you had yesterday. Twitter would have you exceeding quota by an extra 15% had you seen that potential customer complaining about their current vendor. Had you been putting all your opportunities in Salesforce, you would have known your close rate, average deal size and current pipeline and you could have avoided missing quota this quarter. That huge deal your peer just closed, she made that contact during your shift in the booth.

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.  – Muhammad Ali

Selling isn’t always a direct line. There is what we do to close the deals in front of us, the immediate effort required to work your current opportunities, then there is what you need to do to find more opportunities, sell better, engage more prospects, increase your business acumen, expand your industry knowledge, and more. Those things take “time” too.

Not committing time to making yourself a better sales person, a better sales leader, or identifying and creating new opportunities makes selling harder and harder over-time.

The TedTalk, the blog, Twitter, Salesforce, the booth, reading, etc are the roadwork, the gym, and the hard-work long before the dance under the lights.

I know, you don’t have enough time to do anything but “sell.”  I get it and it’s obvious by the way you sell and how you lead.

There is more to selling than just selling. Stop dancing under the lights.