This ninth step is a bit different from the first eight, however, it is no less important. The actual step is:
“Practice, Practice and Practice some more.”
Most sales people look at this statement and say things like – “That’s not important.” ; “Situations never go the way a role play does!” or “I don’t have time to practice – I need to sell more!” DUH! These people don’t get it and it’s a terrible mistake. Practice makes things better, smoother and more natural. Let me discuss a few advantages and methods for getting sure fired results from PRACTICE. First, as Vince Lombardi stated while building the Green Bay Packers into a NFL super power: “Practice makes perfect!” Actually, his complete quote was “Perfect Practice makes Perfect.” This is why he had a short play book, yet, no one could stop his team. They were fundamentally sound and practiced the basics everyday. High performers in sales (and other professions) know that they must practice to keep their skills sharp and fundamentally sound. Often I am told by a sales person – you know I remember doing that early in my career and it worked great, I wonder why I stopped using this technique?
Early in a sales career, you are hungry to learn and use what you were being taught by your sales manager or by someone providing sales training or coaching. Early on, you used these techniques and experimented with different methods and tactics. Usually in the second year, the motivation to learn drops, status quo develops or complacency sets in. You have arrived and there is no longer a need to learn or practice. This is the exact moment to increase your practice.
The next point is probably the most important point. As a person, sales people are no different than others in how they learn things. Visual review or seeing yourself in a video doing sales interviews or making a sales presentation gives instant feedback. The camera does not miss anything. Again, using the football analogy – the best teams video both the practice sessions and the actual games. Why? For visual feedback on the players performance and improving their future performance.
Sales people actually have bias or images of how they look and do things – some are correct and some are actually imaginary. The video shows the actual performance and a good coach or development specialist can break down the performance improvement ideas. The main impact created by this method is instant feedback and therefore time to practice for improvement – before it impacts the next customer!
Practice is how you improve your skills to the point where few things surprise or frustrate you during actual sales situations. When you know you are improving, you increase your self-esteem and confidence levels. This is reflected upon the customer who in turn gains more confidence in you. The real outcome to more practice is higher performance and more positive results.
If you need a sales development specialist to assist you in the video and feedback process, call our office at 901-757-4434 and ask for me – Voss Graham. I’m looking forward to getting YOU to the next level.
Voss Graham
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