Some years ago, I decided that the secret of a successful
sales career is based on a foundation of three fundamentals, activity, sales
skills and product knowledge. As a sales trainer, coach and mentor, I firmly
believe that all three elements are essential. Ignore any one of these three
parts of your career puzzle and you won’t reach your potential.
I teach sales skills. I refer to my material as Sales
Mechanics. You can learn how to sell. I can help. There are ways to approach
selling. In very simple terms, there is a right way and a wrong way to behave as
a sales professional. There are things that you should do and things you should
not do to build a successful sales career (or business).
In the current edition of CRM Magazine, Marshall Lager points out that most
professionals are referred to as practitioners. Why? They are practitioners
because they are always practicing their professions. Like doctors, attorneys
and accountants, sales professionals are on a journey that never ends. The
business world is constantly moving. You have change with the times or get left
behind.
I help people sharpen their sales skills. However, I do
not have any control over their product knowledge or their level of sales
activities. Product knowledge and sales activity are out of my control. These
essentials are out of my control. I can only encourage everyone to become an
expert at what they represent and to work hard and smart.
This brings me to Percy Whiting. Percy Whiting wrote a
classic sales book, The 5 Great Rules
of Selling. I got my copy in 1970. It was a textbook for the Dale
Carnegie sales training class. I launched my sales career in 1970 after
attending the Dale Carnegie program.
I picked the book up last week and decided to read it
again. It has been over 40 years since I last opened it up. After reading the
table of contents, I really looked forward to getting back into it. The
material is timeless. I was amused when Percy noted that he got his first sales
job in 1918. What really got my attention was that he led off the book talking
about the importance of product knowledge. His take on the value of product
knowledge consumed the better part of the first nineteen pages.
I strongly believe that people prefer to buy from subject
matter experts.
My marquee client is enjoying the best consecutive sales
years in the forty year history of the company with no end in sight. Why? Their
sales are soaring because they employ, arguably, the leading product expert in
the industry. They have a sales team of nine, but when there is something big
on the line, the expert is on the sales call and in the room.
I can’t teach product knowledge, but I am a big fan of my
clients becoming subject matter experts. There are a lot of ways to gain
product and industry knowledge. Continuous education in your field provides you
with a huge differential advantage over your competition. Become that “go to”
product person. Become the expert with the answers and insight.
Oh yeah, don’t forget sales skills and sales activities
along the way. And, you can still buy a copy of The 5 Great Rules of Selling. I highly recommend it.
