Learn, Grow….or Die! - The Sales Professional’s Need for Continuous Self Improvement
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by Dr. Gary Jones @ SalesMotivation.net
Learning never ends. It doesn’t end when we graduate high school. It doesn’t end when we graduate college. If we are Sales Professionals (and if you are reading this post I hope that you are) the learning process should never end.
Why?
Sales is a challenging career. To be a top performer, you need to be at the peak of your game every day. Just like a professional athlete, the Sales Professional needs to train every day. You need to exercise your mind daily. Practice and hone your sales skills daily. Rest and recharge daily. Set goals and priorities daily. Get the picture?
In today’s marketplace, competition is stiff. You need a competitive edge. You get that edge through the process of continual learning. This will set you apart from your competition.
Chances are, your product and/or service knowledge base needs to be continually updated. To best serve your client and to close the most sales, you need to be an expert in your product/service knowledge.
Learning-It’s your responsibility
The bottom line is this. You and you alone are responsible for your own on going self improvement. You have to take action and do whatever it takes to continually improve yourself. It is not your organizations responsibility. Don’t rely on your boss or your HR Department to hold your hand and make you a better sales person. Sure, it would benefit them greatly if you improved your skills. Ideally, this would increase your production and overall revenue contribution to the company. However, most companies are so busy running their business, they do not dedicate the resources necessary to this important task.
This brings us to an important issue; be ready to invest your own resources. You should be willing to invest upwards of 5% of your annual income on self improvement. And believe me, it is an INVESTMENT! You will see the returns on your commission checks for years to come. You can learn through audio programs, dvd programs, seminars, newsletters, etc. There are also plenty of free resources on the net (this site being one…come back often) that can assist you in this process.
How do I make this happen?
If your like me, you fight feelings of overwhelm every day. So you are probably asking yourself “how am I going to fit all of this self improvement into my life!”. Here are a few ways to make it happen:
* Use travel time as “learn” time. Audio technology has advanced to the point that you can carry an extensive training library on your Ipod or other Mp3 device. Have it with you at all times and use travel time as an opportunity to grow.
* Read one sales/self improvement book per quarter. If you do this one thing, you will be light years ahead of 97% of the others in your field.
* Wake up EARLY! Devote 30 to 60 minutes per day to reading, listing, meditating on your goals. You will be surprised at the results.
* Use the net. Use this site and others. Subscribe to as many sales newsletters as possible. Read them. Use the information.
The Benefits: What’s in it for you
If you will commit to continual self improvement, you can expect several results. The first and most obvious to the Sales Professional will be a bigger paycheck. You entered the field of sales to control your destiny and to make big money, right? Well no other single factor will contribute more to your paycheck than continual learning. Trust me.
You will also see overall increases in daily productivity. This is a natural by-product of the topics you would/should be studying. Time management, better prospecting and qualifying techniques, etc.
Probably one of the biggest benefits is increased value to your organization. This is also a great way to increase your paycheck. As your value increases, so does your compensation.
If you continually work on self improvement, you will also see your overall self-image improve as well as your overall state of mind. These benefits are not quite as tangible, but just as valuable.
In conclusion, I think you would agree that continuous self improvement for the Sales Professional is imperative. It has to be on-going and you have to be the catalyst. Seek out the resources and make it happen. The benefits will be undeniable!
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Great Post!
Your site is an awesome personal development resource.
The one thing I would like to add is to have a clear definition of your personal development success:
I speak to a lot of groups every year.
The first question I often ask when I’m speaking to a group is: “who wants to be successful?”
Naturally, every hand in the room goes up without hesitation.
People don’t even have to think about it.
“Of course I want to be successful, what a stupid question.”
I then tell them that they have five minutes to write down what “success” is.
More often than not, the majority will sit there for the most (if not, all) of the allocated time staring blankly at the page, not knowing where to start, or what to write.
“What do you want us to write”, they ask.
“You said you want to be successful, write down what that (success) is”, I tell them.
Because, they have never really defined success (for their own life) I experience a range of reactions. Some people get defensive and grumpy, some people get critical (”this is stupid”), some get embarrassed and some have a revelation; they get it.
Yes, they want ‘different’ and ‘better’ and ‘more’ but they don’t actually know what that is.
Keep up the great work Gary!