Are You Winging It?

Today sales trainer Skip Miller discusses the importance of practice - it's an excellent reminder!

It's the start of the baseball season. The NCAA basketball tournaments are just over. Hockey and the NBA are starting to look at the playoffs.What do all these events have to do with selling?

At each of these events, the athletes are honing their skills and trying to put themselves into a position where their skills are juxtaposed with the right opportunity. They are being paid so that all the preparation and practice they have learned through the years is paying off and they can command the most of their talents for the right opportunity.

Hmmmm, it does sound like sales…except the part where the sales person is practicing their selling skills. You know the answer.

Q: Where does the sales person spend the most time preparing for the important sales call?

In between the car door and the front door?
In between when they pick up the phone and the prospect says, "Hello?"

The answer is both, and it sure does speak to the sales and sales management profession. Imagine the coach of a sport team asking the player right before the game:

How many points are you going to get this week?
We are in a five-game playoff...how many goals are you going to get this month?
How many one-putt greens are you going to get for the tournament?
It's just as silly to ask what's closing this week, but that's another story for another time.

It is all about the tools. Practice the tools you already have and the ones you have forgot (You have the book). When was the last time you practiced in front of your peers a 30-Second Speech, 2nd Call and Beyond, or a G.A.P. Chart? Oh, and since all great sales calls start with the end in mind, what about those Summarize/Bridge/Pulls?

You want to get people to call you back – 20-Second Speech. Need to power prospect – ValueStar and questions about trains. You don't need to tell them about you!

If you don't practice the tools, you will go back to your old habits, and you know those will not get you the results you need to make the year, let alone the next quarter. A 'tool' a week, and practice for 15-30 minutes. Basketball players practice free throws longer than that. Golfers, who have been playing golf all their lives, practice their putting longer than that...and daily. What makes you think you are at the top of your game without practice? Oh yeah, ShowTime. I forgot. Wing it from 60 feet?

A recognized authority on the psychology of sales performance, Skip Miller has helped countless companies, already at the height of success in their respective fields, achieve an even greater level of sales productivity and success. Learn more at www.m3learning.com