Let's face it, in the sales profession you will make mistakes. That's a given. But when you comprehend what it takes to construct a sale the right way-when you consistently consult the proper sales manual-you're also able to comprehend when, where, and why a mistake is made. That's because you have a standard to which you can constantly compare your selling efforts. It's the same principle that many sports psychologists utilize when they recommend to their athlete-patients that they visualize themselves making the perfect putt or the perfect free throw or the perfect pass in order to improve their game. It's also the same reason so many top athletes regularly watch their top performances on video-because they understand that when they have a mental standard to uphold, it's not only easier to pinpoint their mistakes, it's also much easier to get back on track and stay there.

In order to help you maintain a productive problem solving approach to your selling efforts, I've listed the top three strategies you must use to avoid skirting your selling issues to make a quick buck.

1. Address the problem as soon as you recognize it. Don't "wait until next time" to fix your selling problems. One of the biggest hindrances to productivity in sales is putting off a problem in order to push through a sale. The trouble with that strategy is that many sales won't close until you fix what ails them. It's like ignoring a customer's objection in hopes that they'll just forget what they said. Remember this: Problems don't ever go away if they are not solved. They remain, ready to reappear at any moment. So get rid of them right away.

2. Always admit your mistakes. That's what character is all about. Don't try to blame your problems on your manager or company or those fulfilling your order. You are responsible for every aspect of a sale, from beginning to end. If you have a rusty spoke in that wheel that's slowing your productivity or casting a shadow on your sales relationships, replace it. Remember that you are the only salesperson your customers see; therefore, in their eyes, it's your fault if something goes awry. Blaming something or someone else is just making excuses-and the best customers know that's a sign of weak character.

3. Sharpen effective selling techniques to avoid problems; don't study problems to avoid problems. Recently a friend shared with me a story that will help drive this point home. While talking with a man whose job is tracking and seizing counterfeit money for the police department, my friend became intrigued to know how one would train for such a position. "You must have to study a lot of counterfeit bills to know one when you see one," he presumed. "No," the man replied. "We just get to know real bills like the backs of our hands. That way it becomes very easy to spot a counterfeit bill-regardless of what it looks like." And in similar fashion, effective problem solving begins when you know-like the back of your hand-what a solid, successful sale looks like from beginning to end, and then are able to hold that up as your standard of success. That way you will immediately know when, where, and why a problem occurred. And, subsequently, fixing a problem is just a matter of adjusting your efforts to reflect your selling standard. Eventually, when your selling techniques are sharpened to a fine edge, your most effective problem solving strategy will be high productivity.

When I was in my twenties, I remember coming to the frustrating realization that the only thing I was doing consistently in my sales career was jumping from one problem to the next. I was constantly under maintenance. If it wasn't one thing it was another. I was trying everything, anything, to get my business to improve. I was adding accounts and prospects, regardless of whether they were right for me or my business was right for them. I was spending more time in the field. I was trying to manage my time better. In fact, in one calendar year, I purchased three different time management systems in an attempt to gain control. But not one of them worked. I was focused on any treatment I could get my hands on-but it was rare that one led to a breakthrough. I thought the next hot seminar would do the trick, and went to many hoping for a miraculous healing. But when it came down to it, nothing did the trick. And the longer I've been training salespeople, the more I realize that many are stuck in the same rut that I was.

The fact is that when most of us began selling, it was more important to produce sales than it was to sharpen selling techniques. As a result, when sales started to wane we just got tough. We didn't stop to think much. We just pushed our way through the problems that arose so we could meet our quotas and goals. We moved forward two steps; but the truth was, we moved back two or three steps at the same time. And that's certainly not the most efficient or most productive method of advancing one's selling career.

When I finally came to terms with my own faulty philosophy of problem solving and began disciplining myself to get to the root of my sales problems the first time, every time, things turned around dramatically in my career. Within a matter of months …

• I became one of the top salespeople in my firm
• I reduced my client load by over 50% while expanding revenues by over 400%
• I increased the amount of money I made per hour by ten times
• I received more referrals than I ever imagined
• I began taking over 3 months of vacation per year

And if you're willing to adopt a new philosophy of sales problem-solving as I did, I believe you can do the same. It's time to put away all the quick fix, get rich, bring you ultimate happiness products and presuppositions, and commit to getting down to the real root of your sales problems. And I think you'll find that when you're willing to do that, increasing your sales success and satisfaction isn't very far behind.

Of the 511 different medicinal products on the "Cold and Cough" aisle at the local Longs drugstore here in my hometown, 485 products treat symptoms and only 26 treat the actual route of the sickness. Go to your local drugstore and I'm sure you'll come up with about the same ratio. Have we become a nation of symptomatic maniacs?

Certainly there is a time and place to treat symptoms. Namely, when we're in the process of treating the sickness. When we've hurt ourselves, and while on the way to getting our wounds treated, we take something for the pain or to stop the bleeding. Of course, there is value in treating symptoms. But if we're honest, more often than not we rely too heavily on symptomatic treatments, and we overlook the sickness.

The truth is that many of us love temporary fixes. We order them from commercials, catalogs, and magazines because we think they are the answer to our problems. We buy them up because when we're feeling bad, we just want to feel better-we don't think much about actually being better. That takes too long. And heaven forbid we actually do something proactive to prevent sickness from happening in the first place. For most busy people, fixing the real problem is too much to ask. Just gimme something to get me through has become the motto of many. Unfortunately, it seems that motto has spilled over into the sales profession. Just gimme something to get me through sounds a lot like how many sales professionals approach their selling problems. And as a result, they repeat the same mistakes and deal with the same problems again and again. Work often becomes drudgery and life takes a back seat.

In order to stop skirting your real selling issues and begin creating a habit of getting to the bottom of your problems immediately, you must first make a philosophical change. You have to make up your mind once and for all that it is more important that you be a better salesperson rather than just feel like a better salesperson. You must accept once and for all that temporary fixes just lead to permanent problems and, therefore, have no place in your sales business. In other words, to initiate a new approach to problem-solving, you must believe for yourself that covering up the symptom of a sales problem is neither the best nor quickest path to sales success, and that fixing the root of the problem is. When that philosophy becomes your own, then you can begin to approach ongoing sales improvement the right way. Proactively. Here's what I mean.

For top salespeople, increasing sales productivity begins with a clear understanding of how a successful sale should be constructed-from the ground up. They have an instruction manual firmly implanted in their minds that reminds them precisely what a successful sale looks like as each part is added to the picture. And the same must be true of you if you are to permanently overcome the temptation to skirt the real issue when something goes awry. You see, it's one thing to commit to getting to the bottom of your problems when they arise-although that's a necessary commitment. It's another thing to know when, where, and why a problem occurred. And when you understand the correct ingredients that make up a successful sale from beginning to end, and are able to utilize them effectively, you will find that you "fix" many problems before they occur. And of the problems that do arise-and they still will-you will find that getting to the bottom of the real issue is a snap. And when that happens, your problem-solving strategy becomes a means to increased sales productivity.