Taking Your Sales Performance Up-a-Notch

By Dave Kahle

“Selling is more difficult now that it was just a couple of years ago.”  Most of the participants in my sales seminars nod solemnly when I make that statement.  And then they begin to fidget in their seats when I follow that up with this:  “And it will be more difficult next year than it is today.”  They become really uncomfortable when I extend that idea:  “And it will be increasingly more difficult every year thereafter.”
    

That’s a sobering truth that we don’t like to face.  Yet, just a little bit of reflection will convince us of the likelihood of that statement holding true.  Aren’t the products and services you sell growing more complex and sophisticated all the time?  Aren’t the demands of your customers growing more complex also?  Aren’t the processes that you use to do your job effectively growing more intricate every year?  Isn’t competition growing more challenging every year?  Isn’t your company changing rapidly, and expecting you to be a part of those changes?  
    

Now, ask yourself one more question.  What’s the likelihood that one day in the near future all of these trends will stop on a dime and everything will become simpler?

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You know the answer.  The job of the field sales person will continue to grow more complex, more challenging and more difficult for the foreseeable future.

So what does that mean to you?  It means that you will need to continually change and adapt constantly.  It means that you will need to become proficient at learning new things and improving yourself.  It means that, from this point on, you will have two jobs:

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1. Doing your job
2. Constantly changing and improving yourself

At first this seems unfair.  There was a time, not so long ago, that a field sales person could pay his/her dues, put in a strenuous few years, and then begin to coast as you leveraged the relationships you created and the product knowledge you gained.  Those days are gone.  In their place is the time compressed, stress laden, constantly changing atmosphere we currently inhabit. 

It may seem unfair.  You may have been born a few years too late.  But, really, it’s not so different than other components of our economy.  Aren’t manufacturers expected to constantly improve their products, and every now and then bring out a breakthrough new technology?  Isn’t your company continually improving its processes?  Aren’t your suppliers constantly bringing you ideas and services?  Don’t your customers strive to continually improve their businesses and their processes?

So why should field sales people be...[Click Here To Read The Entire Article Online]​​​​​​​