"I Want To Be A Sales Superstar"
Dan:
I want to be a sales superstar! I have read your book and attended two of your workshops. I really want to be in the top tier of our sales team and consistently make our President's Club. Any advice?
Robert
Phoenix AZ
Robert:
Thanks for the great question! Step one in achieving greatness in any aspect of your life is desire.
Napoleon Hill said it best: "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve."
I have asked my sister, Kathleen Adams, for some expert advice and option on this topic. She has a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies, and more than 30 years of experience as a psychotherapist, clinical supervisor, educator, consultant and administrator.
Here is what she has to say on the topic of change and improvement.
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Becoming a Sales Superstar:
The Challenge of Change Kathleen M. Adams, Ph.D.
Becoming a strategic and consultative Sales Superstar requires significant changes in your "world view" - how you think about yourself, and how you think about your relationships with key stakeholders. You are faced with new ways of thinking, many of which directly challenge what you have been taught and believe.
When faced with significant innovations in thinking, we tend initially to find ourselves in one of the following three characterizations:
- The "Authoritative Critic"
- The "Authoritative Expert"
- The "Enthusiastic Apprentice"
We can think about these three characters as being on a spectrum that runs from outright rejection to eager acceptance. As we take a brief look at each of these, allow yourself to wonder where on the spectrum you fall in your process of becoming a Sales Superstar.
The Authoritative Critic
This individual quickly dismisses new ways of thinking, outright rejecting them as ridiculous, foolish and unwise. What is this individual's motivation?
Motivation of the Authoritative Critic? Fear of change, of loss.
The Authoritative Expert
This individual is one who typically responds to the introduction of innovative ideas by rejecting the reality that the ideas are indeed innovative. This individual is typically thinking "What's the big deal? I've always done it this way."
What is this individual's motivation? Fear of losing face, of appearing inadequate.
The Enthusiastic Apprentice
This individual is excited by innovative thinking and is eager to learn. She may not understand or totally embrace the innovative concepts, but she is excited about the possibilities that well-informed change may bring about.
What is this individual's motivation? It is hunger for knowledge and excitement about the possibilities that may come with new knowledge.
The nature of change is dynamic. As much as we might like to believe that change is linear, the truth is that deep transformative change develops in a spiral pattern. As you reviewed the above characteristics, you may have seen parts of yourself in each description.
Knowledge is power. The more aware you can become of your own process of "spiraling" through the process of change, the more conscious and intentional you can be about choosing change, choosing growth, and choosing to become a Sales Superstar!
by: Kathleen M. Adams, Ph.D.
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Robert, the world of sports provides us a glimpse into the mind of the superstars. There is a consistent theme you will hear from them. They are never satisfied and have a hunger to improve. Here are a few examples: Rory McIlroy, immediately after having set or tied 12 records on his way to an 8 stroke win at the US Open Golf Championship said, "I should have made a few more putts today".
Tiger Woods, after setting the record for the most lopsided victory at the World Cup and passing Arnold Palmer on the list of most PGA tour wins stated, "I still have a lot of areas that need improvement."
Sounds to me like you are well on your way to becoming a superstar. You are what Kathleen would call an Enthusiastic Apprentice. I would recommend that you continue to be a "sales knowledge sponge" and soak up everything you can to improve your skills. That includes a voracious appetite for reading everything you can on sales skills and your client's industry. Being a sales superstar involves being aware of why you and your colleagues win deals. More importantly, when you lose deals, be sure to conduct and learn from your lost sale feedback meeting. Remember Robert, "Those at the top of the mountain did not fall there." - Unknown
Good Luck and Close 'Em!
P.S. For Dan's previous TTS Newsletters click
HERE.
P.S.S. Be sure to visit www.salesstrategizer.com for the new Sales Strategizer-Pro iPhone app. The Sales Strategizer-Pro offers the following unique benefits to sales managers and representatives:
- Analyzes data input to provide intelligence in the form of recommendations for the proper major account sales strategy (strategies) to employ
- Consolidates user inputs to illustrate the chances of winning with an indicator gauge and digital readout
- Submits "red flag" coaching feedback with action items to improve chances of winning
- Coaches and explains why inputs are critical by providing hyperlinks in each question
- Presents a simple and concise summary report to facilitate coaching & major account review
- Provides summary report e-mail capability for sharing and printing
- Creates a database to store account Strategizer results for subsequent updates and modifications
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