Sales Continuous Improvement - The Ultimate Success Skill

by Dave Kahle

            In the last 12 months, only one out of every 20 salespeople have spent $25.00 or more on their own improvement!  Incredible.  Let me repeat it to make sure you read it correctly:  In the last 12 months, only one out of every 20 salespeople have spent $25.00 or more on their own improvement!  That’s my conclusion, based on lots of anecdotal evidence collected over the past 25 years of working with salespeople.

           I am embarrassed by that.  Only five percent of my colleagues are sufficiently dedicated to their own personal growth and professional success that they will invest their own money in their careers.  That means that ninety-five percent are not sufficiently motivated to take their own personal development seriously.  What a shame.

           I am convinced that the process of continuously improving – not only professionally in the core competencies of a professional salesperson, but also personally as well – is the ultimate success skill for our time.

           The ability to learn and grow in a proactive and disciplined way is several things:

           1.  A method to do better at your job.  Good salespeople sell more than mediocre salespeople.  Good salespeople make more money, enjoy more success and greater status than mediocre salespeople.  Good salespeople work at becoming better.

           2.  A way to distinguish yourself from the masses.  Remember, ninety-five percent of your competitors and colleagues don’t care enough to invest in themselves.  When you do that, you eventually separate yourself from the pack.

           3.  A minimal requirement for your employer.  I often tell my clients that every salesperson (and every employee, for that matter) has two jobs:

                     a.  his job, and

                     b.  continually improving himself.  If someone is not interested in improving his skills, I don’t want him working for me, or for my clients.

Master Your Most Powerful Sales Tool

When you are face-to-face with a customer, there is nothing you can do that is more powerful than asking a better question.

That’s why I’m presenting a one-hour webinar on “Mastering Your Most Powerful Sales Tool,” on April 12 at 12:30 PM (Eastern).  In it, you’ll learn

• My list of 20 most effective sales questions.
• How to ask questions that unveil the hidden treasures buried within your prospects' minds, guiding them towards a resounding "yes" with every interaction.
• The three levels of understanding customers' needs through the “peeling the onion” method —  Master this, and I can almost guarantee you'll never find yourself second-guessing about a prospect's situation again.
• The shocking reason why you should NEVER ask your prospect the all-too-common "How much are you currently paying?" question.
• And much more.

Don’t let this opportunity pass you by.  It may be the best $47 you will have ever spent. 

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           4.  An ethical imperative.  It is, I believe, immoral to not improve yourself.  Your employer has hired you not just for what you know and what you can do, but for your potential to know more and do more.  When you refuse to improve yourself, you rob your employer of some of the reasons he pays you.  That, to me, is immoral.

           The same is true for your family, friends and people with whom you have some influence.  You owe it to them to become the best that you can become.

           5.  A necessary process that inevitably leads to spiritual growth.  Spiritual growth is, of course, “growth.”  Growth requires positive change and transformation.  Thus, the ability to grow and change in a dedicated and disciplined way is a requirement for serious spiritual growth.  Additionally, a serious student of personal improvement inevitably moves from focus on tactical issues to deeper, more spiritual, issues.  See my article on “Layers of depth.”

           That’s a lot of value wrapped up in a single, fundamental process.  You can see why I believe that the ability to learn in a focused, systematic way is the ultimate competency — the foundational skill that, if mastered, will eventually lead you to success.

           I call this — the ultimate self-improvement skill for turbulent times and beyond — “self-directed learning.”

           When you hear the word learning you’re probably reminded of your days in school, or perhaps seminars and company-sponsored training programs come to mind.  While these are all means of facilitating learning, they don’t capture th... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE