 "Repetition is the mother of all skills.” Anthony Robbins
There is no magic here, too many people are looking for quick fixes, easy way outs and using apps rather than effort. Many years ago, having left University at the age of 22 and thinking I knew everything I took a job in sales and worked out quickly I knew nothing. Luckily for me, I had a Managing Director that sent me to a sales training program that changed my life – I couldn’t believe these skills could be learned and weren’t part of a bigger (life) curriculum. These 2 days set me on a path and helped me greatly form part of my thinking of the three different types of skills that need to be developed to ensure Mastery in Sales – Personal, Professional and Practical:
A 250 word blog is unlikely to scratch the surface of all the skills one might need to ensure sales excellence but hopefully this provides a bit of an overview and stimulates some thinking around what you or your team might require. “85% of your financial success is due to your personality & ability to communicate, negotiate & lead. Shockingly, only 15% is due to your technical knowledge.” Carnegie Institute of Technology **Charlie is an expert in developing external sales teams and people, particularly where relationships and solution selling are the key differentiators.
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 “There is no pay check that can equal the feeling of contentment that comes from being the person you are meant to be.” Oprah Winfrey
“Continuous effort, not strength or intelligence is the key to unlocking our potential.” Winston Churchill Potential is much written about, there are plenty of definitions and quotes from people who have contributed a great deal to the development of thinking around it – my view is that it is made up of the following three: Focus The key to getting anywhere in life is to know where you are going and stay on the path – this isn’t always easy with the number of choices and distractions we all face, as Winston Churchill said “you will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks”. This is where Awareness is critical so as one ensures they choose and stay on a path that is consistent with who they are, which you can read more about here. Patience Along with focus, potential requires a certain amount of patience to ensure that setbacks or challenges do not get in the way causing individuals to become frustrated and give up. The exuberance of one’s 20’s and 30’s is often tempered as experience and wisdom kick in later years – the profoundness of the saying “it only took me 20 years to become an overnight success” should be instilled a little more into all of us rather than the comparison games that most of society plays. Coachable The ability to listen, process and take on board feedback is the final critical piece of potential. Human nature is such that ignorance, insecurities and pride get in the way of developing and implementing new ideas. My two children, Henry 17 and Scarlet 15, both have part time jobs, independently within the last 6 months both of their bosses have said how great they are to have working with as they listen and are very coachable - it made my heart sing. Joseph Folkman talks about the importance and value of coachability in his article in Forbes Magazine is well worth a read here. Thanks for taking the time to read this and as always, I’d love to hear you thoughts. **Charlie is an expert in developing external sales teams and people, particularly where relationships and solution selling are the key differentiators.  Mindset is defined as a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one’s behaviour, outlook and mental attitude. Carol Dweck’s research into the difference between a “Fixed” and “Growth” Mindset is definitely worth reading up on here. I like to look at it in a different way with resilience, empathy and motivation as the key ingredients. Resilience The ability to deal with the inevitable setbacks of life is even more omnipresent in sales – when it's going well, it’s like being a rock star on stage, and when it’s not, it’s like being a thief caught red handed. Resilience is the ability to recover from life’s challenges; one of my first bosses was from the old school, he used to talk about picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and walking into the 10th sales call of the day like it was your first despite being knocked back in the previous 9 times. Resilience can be learned as described by Martin Seligman in the Harvard Business Review here. Empathy Being able to feel or understand from another person’s perspective is a critical skill when trying to influence someone to do something. Sales people never know what they are going to be walking into so the ability to quickly assess what is going on and how to handle themselves is crucial. Many, many years ago, in a new role, I mentioned to a prospect that we had dealt with his father who unbeknownst to me had very recently passed away which made a very difficult situation even worse. We eventually won some of his business back but he seemed to associate this difficult period of his life with me for a number of years afterwards and it still sits with me poorly over 25 years later. Motivated “All sunshine makes a desert” my father always said and to be fair, I never really understood how profound it was until the last few years. In sales, you need to be able to motivate yourself and find motivation in others; always surrounding yourself with people who inspire you, may they be friends, family or other, will ensure you find and keep your operating rhythm. Harvard Professor and Philosopher Oliver Wendell Holmes sums it up fairly well when he said: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” **Charlie is an expert in developing external sales teams and people, particularly where relationships and solution selling are the key differentiators. |
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