Four Ways You Can Practice Sales: Repetition | Process | Professionalism | Patterns

by Dave Kahle

“Every profession expects the serious practitioner of that profession to continually seek out the best practices of that profession, and then to roll them into his/her routine with discipline.”

       That statement comes out of my mouth in almost every seminar or key-note that I present.  Sometimes I follow it up with the ironic observation that there is, apparently, one exception to that rule – and that is the profession of sales, where we don’t expect anyone to improve.

       That is, of course, nonsense.  The truth is that better sales people produce better results.  The best sales people produce the best results.  And better sales people continually imbed best practices into their habits.  That’s how they become better.  They practice.

       I just got off the phone with one of my clients.  We were discussing the miserable state of the market in his industry – down about 35 percent from two years ago.  Yet, he observed that four of his 12 sales people where having record years.

Are your sales people ‘sharpening the sword’?

Sales people often become stuck in their comfort zones and allow their skills and disciplines to slide.  It’s human nature.  But, it’s not good for them or you.

Help them burst out of their routines with a short, weekly reminder. Sharpening the sword couldn’t be easier with our Kahle Way® B2B Selling System program.

A few minutes a week, for less than the cost of lunch.

 “It’s easy to do well when the market is growing,” he observed.  “Most sales people don’t know what they did to gain business when the market was growing, and they don’t know what to do when the market is shrinking.  The good sales people, though, know how to sell.  And that brings them results.”

       Good sales people sell more than mediocre sales people.  That is such a blatantly obvious truth, that I’m embarrassed to even mention it.  And the way that sales people get to be good is just like every other professional becomes good – they practice!

       Good doctors practice their craft and continually improve.  So do good social workers, teachers, accountants, and lawyers.  Ditto for ministers, nurses, airline pilots, chefs and executives.  The list goes on and on.  No reasonably mature person thinks that after a year on the job they know it all.  On the contrary, they expect to learn, grow and improve for the balance of their careers.

According to the Encarta Dictionary, the word practice means:

1. repetition in order to improve.
2. process of carrying out an idea.
3. work of a professional person.
4. usual pattern of action.

All of these accurately describe the behavior that separates the good sales person from the mediocre.  Here’s how:

Repetition in order to improve.

A good sales person studies...CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE.