by Russ Davis
For some, Sales is an accidental vocation and they often enter it unprepared. There is no other position in the business world where people find themselves with so much responsibility and so little preparation. Often the IT professional, engineer, lawyer, accountant or business owner find themselves completely qualified to provide services or products but are at a loss when it comes to getting in front of prospects. This stands to reason. In school we are usually taught a skill, but were never told that we would have to sell it to someone before using it.
In what other field do we expect results from untrained and inexperienced people? I can’t think of one. The expectation seems to be that a salesperson has some natural instinct that allows him or her to close deals. Rarely is thought put into what makes a good salesperson. Like being good at anything, being a good sales person means refining a particular skill set through practice and dedication.
What makes a great salesperson? We start with the basics. They must have basic fundamental strengths. They must have the desire to succeed. They must have the commitment necessary to do whatever it takes to reach their goals. They must have the courage to fail. They have to accept the responsibility that business conditions, the economy, or other hurdles are not valid excuses to keep them from reaching their goals. We are looking for the budding Tiger Woods of sales. Tiger didn’t walk on to a golf course and hit the ball 300 plus yards. It was years of dedication and hard work that refined him into a great player. Sales is no different, we need dedicated people that will work hard at getting better. Natural charisma and tenacity can go a long way in sales, but if we want true greatness, there has to be a dedication to learn and refine the craft.
Natural ability is only step one. Steps two, three and four include working to make ourselves better at our jobs, developing confidence and self esteem, and providing the resources to grow our businesses. As business people we must hold ourselves accountable. As managers we must look for these qualities in people and help them refine their skills. Don’t throw someone into sales and see if they sink or swim. As long as they have strong arms and legs, help them develop into a great swimmer. If we leave sales as a sink or swim profession we’ll often find ourselves treading water but not reaching our potential.
Russ Davis is a business development and sales training coach whose clients include corporations as well as many small to medium sized private companies. He will be conducting our May 21st workshop on no pressure business development.
