The Sales Archaeologist

Ok we have been in an economic slump. Have you been waiting for the stock market to stabilize and for things to take off? Maybe you think that the price of gold is one true economic indicator that tells you it is finally time to get back to business? Perhaps you have been waiting and watching for some of the big companies to pull us out of this mess - start hiring and spending money again?

Or are you waiting on something else?

Obviously as a sales development expert I think there is only one thing that can pull you or your company out of this economic slump. I see it all the time when evaluating a group of sales people and I witness it first hand when I do the follow up work, Therefore I know it exists and I know it’s real.

• The majority of reps blame the economy – this person performs in spite of it.
• The majority don’t think they need training even though they under perform – this person devours it even though they over achieve.
• The majority complains about internal issues – this person shrugs their shoulders and says they don’t notice it.

Performing in a down economy is no different than the other two bullets – it is a mindset, an attitude that only a small percentage of the sales population possess. Although many sales people feel they are part of this group the data and probably your own experiences validate the fact that this isn’t so.

So the question for sales people that want to be part of that group is quite often – “what separates me from them?”  You might wonder how wide the chasm is and if you can (and please excuse the plagiarism Mr. Geoffrey Moore) cross the chasm?

The answer – i.e. the difference between many sales people and the top performers,  is similar to the difference between most of us and a PGA tour Golf Professional. They would like to play like that but can they? Do they have the commitment, desire and the willingness to put in the time and are they prepared to be disciplined and trained by others in order to get there?

I often use a golf analogy when helping people understand the results of a personal assessment or the evaluation of an entire sales force. Imagine you just played 18 holes with Rory McElroy, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods – great you think; I would love that! But how would you feel about your own game after that? Would you practice more and want to apply some of what you learned watching them? Or would you quit golf out of discouragement?

That is similar to how you might feel after going through one of our sales assessments and then digesting the results. Sales people have the option of quitting - or you can start working towards some new goals.