Are You Dialed In?

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Selling is a difficult profession to master. Not many reps are as good as they would like to be; even fewer are as good as they could be.

Why can’t more sales professionals get dialed in?

One of the big performance gaps comes from the lack of disciplined practice. I once read that Michael Jordan would shoot 400 baskets a day as he was growing up. It’s been documented that Steffi Graf would practice 1000 back hands daily. How much practice are you getting?

Some reps believe they practice with every call they make; this is dangerous thinking. Would you expect an airline pilot to practice on your next flight? I don’t think so, there is simply too much at stake.

Another obstacle you need to overcome is the lack of immediate feedback in selling. You make a mistake in snow skiing and the mountain instantly lets you know. Lose control of your bike and suddenly you’re planting your face into the asphalt.

This type of instantaneous feedback doesn’t happen in sales. A client won’t interrupt you and say, “Excuse me, but that question wasn’t really the right one to ask me at this point.” Eventually you figure it out, but only when your checking account starts to run low.

Let’s assume for a moment that you’re happy and reasonably successful in your selling career. Is it really that important to work on getting dialed in? Why put in the time, energy and effort to change?

If you can’t come up with at least three compelling reasons, then stop reading here. Sales people who think they’re done with learning are usually just done. And that’s OK if your closing question is “Do you want fries with that?”

Why push yourself?

Here are ten of my favorite reasons for working towards that next level. How do they stack up against yours?

#1. To make selling a rewarding career, not a repetitious series of 30 day cycles between fear and boredom.

#2. To build strong relationships, deliver uncompromising results and build a steady stream of profitable revenue.

#3. To be the difference that makes the difference when the customer sees the products as being similar.

#4. To eliminate the frustration and anxiety of not knowing what is really happening - or why.

#5. To guide each customer interaction in a way that maximizes productivity without causing the customer to feel controlled.

#6. To be regarded by your clients as a problem solver, not a product pusher.

#7. To consistently do great work, even with difficult customers, and even in the most difficult selling situations.

#8. To eliminate premature demonstrations, bag diving for literature, early price negotiations, and other behaviors that reek of being a novice.

#9. To realize that in order to sell more every year, you need to get better every year.

#10. To ensure that the best day you’ll ever have is not one you’ve already had.

Are you always looking for new ideas on how to get dialed in? If not, you should be. You'll be surprised by what you can still learn and amazed at where these lessons can take you.
Looking for fresh ideas on how to get dialed in? Give me a call and we can look at exactly what it will take for you to get to the top. The conversation will cost you nothing.

Not ready to talk but still interested in receiving insights and ideas on how you can make 2008 great? Then visit my website (www.timwackel.com) and sign up for my monthly journal Speaking of Sales.

Good Selling,
Tim Wackel
tim@thewackelgroup.com
214.369.7722

Tim Wackel, founder and president of The Wackel Group, delivers sales workshops for technology companies that are insightful, engaging and focused on providing real world success strategies that audiences can (and will!) implement right away. Tim's clients include industry leaders Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Raytheon, Red Hat, BMC Software, Philips Medical Systems, Occam Networks, and TXU Energy. Tim holds a Electrical Engineering degree from the University of Nebraska and lives in Dallas where he and his wife enjoy the constant thrills of raising two teenagers.