The Sales Archaeologist

I have been regularly going to a gym - daily for years. unfortunately the results have been inconsistent and somewhat sporadic. I had my routine, sometimes I worked harder than others but the bottom line was results. I simply wasn't getting the results I wanted and after all isn't that what matters. Enter Personal Trainer - Darin StGeorge.

Darin told me that I was still fat after coming for years, he said he had been watching my routine and that it sucked, he said he could help but only if I was committed to spending time and money - almost 4 times what I had been spending. He was a little abrasive, almost rude but he was right and I signed up.

Apparently after two workouts with Darin it is pretty clear that i really have not been working out. He pushes me, yells at me, makes me sweat and gasp and then provides instructions as to what I need to do all week. In case you haven't worked it out here are some of the lessons that I have gleaned from this experience.

• Being active and regular at the gym will not equate to success.
• I thought I was doing well but I wasn't.
• I had to be humble enough to admit that.
• Sometimes we need to be pushed and held accountable.
• Sometimes experts Know more than I do.
• It can be painful but it is rewarding.
• You can't get hung up on people being rude or direct or pushing back - if they are right then that shouldn't matter.
• The cost shouldn't matter if you care about and focus on the results.

Sometimes we run into obstacles as we try and help people. We push back, criticize or offer direct correction to a CEO and sometimes they get mad and tell us go away. No problem - they apparently are not worried about results. Sometimes we see sales people going through the motions and being active - but it isn't effective and they need to change. We are often in a position of holding CEO's accountable and sales people accountable - not always popular but if you want results it is necessary. Sometimes people focus on price - "$*#!! to evaluate my salesforce and determine what isn't working - are you mad?" - yet they pay underperformers and lose money every month by overpaying sales leadership for poor results.

So how fit is your sales team? Maybe they need a personal trainer?