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1207: Ready-Fire-Aim! Get out there and Learn

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Sales cure all. There’s never been a business that succeeded without sales, right?

This may seem counterintuitive but, don’t wait around for help. I think one of the things that is challenging companies and DSRs right now is that they think the DSRs must have mentors in order to succeed. They want a tutor, right? Teach me, teach me, teach me. There’s nothing wrong with getting help from someone who’s more knowledgeable in an area than you, but you cannot just wait around for help to come…

You and your company need sales now! So, get out there… ready-fire-aim! Quit waiting for the perfect amount of help, whining that you can’t figure this or that out. Get off your butt and get out there and learn, just figure it out, in particular, Greenhorns.

Because going through that process of learning is what I think is part of what separates the successful DSRs from the rest of the sales herd. The salespeople who go through the process of learning and figuring it out on their own know more about what their customers really need and want. There’s only one way to learn this and that is by doing it yourself, by reaching for the knowledge.

Be prepared. When you walk into the room, if you don’t know more about your business, your industry, your company, your products and your customer than anybody else in the world, then why would you think you could get more business from that customer? So basically, you don’t know crap in that customer’s eyes. Because a sales rep who “Does Know” will come into your accounts and kick your butt.

Seriously, if you walk in and there’s somebody else who knows your business and your industry better than you, why would they buy from you??

The one thing in the sales business you can control is Your Effort. There’s nobody that should be able to outwork you!

I guarantee you that when I was a Greenhorn, you could not have outworked me! I would not have taken that chance. Who’s outworking you? What is your effort level like?

Look, everybody is a mess at times. You sometimes question if you’re going to make it, and if you’re smart enough, good enough, or prepared enough? Then when the prospect or customer doesn’t place the order, you think, “That other DSR beat me again this week and I didn’t get those other items I thought they were going to buy this week.” It happens. Get over it and move on. What do you think those other DSRs tell their bosses about the items they didn’t get in one of your accounts?

Get back to the grind. Success is like a roller-coaster, it’s up and down and for sure not in a straight line.

The point is… if you want more sales and want to beat your goals, then you’ve got to recognize that you don’t have it all figured out and need to learn more. Reach for the knowledge and get back out there, get to work and figure it out! Don’t wait around for somebody to come along and help you, go after the answers yourself!

DSRs, Be a Resource…and Sell Something!