Two Types of Salespeople

This article from sales trainer Jim Meisenheimer is a great reminder of the power of practice and preparation. Which kind of salesperson will you be?

Actually "There are three kinds of salespeople; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who are wondering what happened."

You've probably heard that one before. In fact, there are two different types of salespeople and they are very easy to spot.

The first type is the improvisor. He seldom prepares, his preferred style, is to take things as they come. He likes to be spontaneous. He usually relies on his instinct and counts on his intuition to carry the day.

His days are fun filled and exciting, because he literally treats each sales call as an adventure. He's the Indiana Jones of selling, foot loose and fancy free, whatever that means.

The second type is the professional. He also enjoys his work, for different reasons. He anticipates everything, especially the routines and repetitive stuff. He knows the routines which gives him the opportunity to prepare in advance.

For example, he handles recurring objections. He knows he'll get them over and over again, so he prepares in advance how he will deal with them.

He plays with words, until he creates power phrases that work like magic. Once prepared, he knows that to execute a perfect delivery, he must practice what he's prepared until he nails it.

He records his power phrases into a digital recorder and plays them over and over until they are anchored into his subconscious.

His sales calls are different because he treats them as opportunities not as adventures.

There are two types of salespeople and of course they achieve two different results.

Each one follows a pattern, one is unstructured and one isn't.

Each can be seen as a formula. One formula gets better selling results than the other. Here they are:

I + I = I (Instinct + Intuition = Improvisation)

P + P = P (Preparation + Practice = Professionalism)

The secret to achieving consistent selling success is that there are no shortcuts, no quickies just plain old fashioned hard work. These are the formulas and you get to choose. One doesn't require much preparation. One pays better than the other.

Remember this too, preparation trumps improvisation every day of the week.

Also remember, your customers can tell the difference between "Improvisation" and "Preparation." When you combine preparation with practice you get professionalism
which enables you to meet with a success you never before imagined.

Jim Meisenheimer publishes The Sales TrailBlazer Newsletter, a fresh and high content newsletter dedicated to helping you grow your business and multiply your income. To learn more, visit http://www.startsellingmore.com/