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How Exploration is Part of the Sales Process

Guest post by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith

Article Overview: Is exploration part of your sales approach? If not, you may need to reconsider if you wish to increase sales

How Exploration is Part of the Sales Process

Being a first generation Scandinavian in the United States, I grew up hearing about the explorations of my ancestors such as Leif Erickson. These Vikings appeared to be fearless in the love for exploration.

Later, I read about the journeys of early Americans from Daniel Boone to Lewis and Clark. However I had the benefit of learning first hand from my Swedish grandmother, Hilma, all about what it takes to be an explorer.

She explored America as a young woman two times when she worked in New York City. This very short lady was very tall in her belief of herself. She knew that exploring life began within her and her limitations were hers alone.

At the age of 40, she returned through the gates of Ellis Island with my grandfather along with her 3 sons and one daughter not knowing that she was pregnant with my father, her fourth son and youngest child.

She and my grandfather settled in the northern woods of Wisconsin and began to explore how to build a farm and create a sustainable life for their family. Later the Depression happened and my grandmother took the family to Chicago so that they could find jobs to pay the taxes on the family farm and keep it out of the hands of the bank.

Hilma explored Chicago with the same enthusiasm and fearless that she had 20 years previously when she explored New York City. She landed a job at the Conrad Hilton hotel as a cook and along with my grandfather’s various jobs her efforts kept the family farm from foreclosure.

Life to this incredible lady was just a series of explorations. Her belief in her own ability allowed her to demonstrate numerous capabilities from cooking to sewing to managing to raising five children who shared her love of explorations. One of those children, my Uncle Cliff explored the field of jet planes and received the third license as a jet mechanic even issued in the USA.

With many businesses and consequently sales professionals suffering due to the uncertain economy, now is the time to ask yourself:

• Who should I be exploring?
• When should I be exploring?
• What is keeping you from sales exploration?
• Where are you going to find that next new customer?
• What obstacles must you overcome to increase sales?
• How are your marketing and sales plans helping you explore your target markets?
• Why are the results from your exploration not working as well as they should be?

For exploration in sales is just as much as having the desire to go forward as it is in preparing for those potential obstacles. Your sales success will always remain within your belief that Yes You Can continue to explore no matter what happens.

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Article Tags: ancestors, belief, conrad hilton hotel, daniel boone, ellis island, erickson, explorations, foreclosure, gates, grandmother, jet mechanic, jet planes, journeys, lewis and clark, new york city, sales professionals, sewing, sustainable life, vikings, young woman



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