Q&A: How Can I Be My Personal Best in Sales?

by Dave Kahle

Q.  Mr. Kahle, was there ever a time in your sales life that you just decided to be the best?  Or was it something that you have always had?  I started a business a few years ago and need to take it to the next level.

           A. Wow.  What a good question.  I have honestly never been asked that before, nor have I ever thought about it.  So, your question prompted a whole new area of thought for me.

           I’ve been fortunate in my sales career to have been the number one salesperson in the nation for two different companies in two different industries.  I’ve had other successes in almost all of my jobs.  My firm, The DaCo Corporation, is today one of the most successful of our type of business.

           Having said that, your question prompted some real introspection and reflection.  Thank you.

           Let’s begin by defining the terms.  First of all, I rarely compared myself with other people.  So, when you use the words “the best”, it wasn’t that I wanted to achieve more than other people.  Instead, I wanted to become the “best” that I was capable of becoming.  So, my motivation has always been to make the most of the opportunities and gifts given to me.  It was never to be better than someone else.  “The best” was never a statement relative to my standing with other people.  It always was an internal goal, relative to the situations in which I found myself.

Difficult and Irate Customers!

These are the kinds of sales calls that keep us awake at night.  They get under our skin and bother us for weeks.

We all have them. 

While they may be few in number, the potential impact is huge:

• They cause us to be upset.
• We lose our confidence.
• They could cost us huge dollars of sales.
• The spin-offs – disgruntled customers telling others about their problem -- can expand like ripples on the water.

            Let me help.  In this 60-minute webinar, I’ll show you:

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• A specific set of tactics for customers who are:

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           To this day, I continue to think that way.  For example, I spend very little time comparing my company and my personal progress to others.  It’s not about me (or us) relative to others.  It is always about us, relative to who we are, to the opportunities that present themselves to us.

           I think that is an important distinction.  My standards and goals were always internally derived, and never defined in terms of other people.

           Here’s another thought.  To be the “best” connotes a fixed position.  When you are “the best” you have arrived.  The race has been won; the prize achieved.  I have never thought in those terms.  To me, it has always been a continuous, never-ending process.  I am certainly not the best that I can be, not by a long shot.  My company has not “arrived,” nor will we ever.  We continually strive, however, to become ever better.  The focus is on the journey and the process, not the end. 

           One more thought.  While the concept of becoming the “best that you can be” may make sense in a general, long-range, lifelong perspective, I have always found my motivation to be more urgent and within reach.  In other words, while I could understand and assent to the general rule to “become the best that I could be”, what motivated me on a day-to-day basis, and still motivates me, are the immediate opportunities and challenges.  In a practical sense, I have not been motivated to “be the best that I could be in my life,” rather I have been motivated to do the best with the opportunity and situation which I see in front of me.

           Since your question really speaks to core motivation, I feel compelled to share that with you.  We both realize that this... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE