By Gary Walker, EVP of Channel Sales & Operations, CustomerCentric Selling®
“Just because you purchased a gym membership, it doesn’t mean you are fit!”
I love that adage! How many of us have purchased a gym membership, gone to a couple of sessions, and then simply stopped going?
The same thing can be said about attending sales training.
Just because you attended a 3-day sales training workshop, you can’t expect your sales performance to simply improve. What are you going to do during the next 362 days that remain in the year to improve your sales performance?
In addition to simply having attended sales training, it is going to take:
- Courage.
- Courage to believe that that you are capable of becoming a better salesperson.
- Courage to feel uncomfortable, when it would be easier just to do the same old thing you’ve always done.
- Courage to understand that your performance might get a little worse before it gets a lot better.
- Courage to abandon poor sales habits that are continuing to sabotage your performance.
- Courage to adopt the new sales process, methods and tactics you have learned that will make you better.
- Courage to try what you have learned and put it into practice on a daily basis.
- Courage to call ‘time out’ when things are not going the way you believe they should.
- Courage to anticipate a prospect’s questions and plan how you will deal with them logically and professionally.
- Courage to stay the course when your prospect pushes back on what you are attempting to do.
- Courage to set aside sacred time to practice your new sales process, skills, methods, and tactics on a weekly basis.
- Courage to ask your sales trainer, manager or coworker for help.
So the question becomes: Do you have…courage?
It’s been my experience that many salespeople and managers are afraid to ask for help. They seem to be content to suffer quietly, work harder at the same old thing, and expect a different result. It’s going to take some courage for you to pick up the telephone to call us or write an email. We’ve got three quarters to go. What do you have to lose? Nothing! I’m happy to help.