Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! Evan Signature
Evan Carmichael Top Header about About Home Profiles articles Tools forums inspirational quotes About facebook Twitter YouTube Blog
Share for a Cause











The Difference Between Sales Commitment and Work Ethic

Guest post by: Dave Kurlan

Article Overview: Work ethic and sales commitment are not necessarily the same thing.

Free Download - Sales Courage and Resilience By Dave Kurlan
Name: Email:

The Difference Between Sales Commitment and Work Ethic

When a sales force evaluation shows that a salesperson lacks commitment, the most likely remark we hear from management is usually, "but he has such a good work ethic!" When we ask what they mean by "work ethic", management often say things like:

"Works long hours" is obviously the one most consistent with "good work ethic" but the others? Not so much. Most important to note is that none of the four responses has anything to do with Commitment.
Sales Commitment is about a salesperson's willingness to do whatever is necessary in order to succeed. Those necessary things usually don't occur in the office, but in the sales cycle, including:
  • Making calls they might not be comfortable making
  • Asking questions they might not be comfortable asking
  • Pushing back when they might not be comfortable pushing back
  • Having a conversation about money when they aren't comfortable talking about money
  • Saying 'no' to an inappropriate presentation request when it's not comfortable to say 'no'
  • Learning to sell the new way when they might not be comfortable with change
  • Being proactive when their default is to be reactive
  • Hunting for new business when they are most comfortable managing existing accounts
Let's look at the 2011 Boston Red Sox historic collapse which concluded last night with a dramatic and stunning 9th inning loss to the lowly Baltimore Orioles. Moments later the Tampa Bay Rays beat the 1st place New York Yankees in extra innings when they overcame a 7-0 deficit to tie the Yankees in the last half of the 9th. The Red Sox, who also own the record for the greatest comeback in sports history (2004), had a 9.5 game lead over the Rays on September 1.
Was it lack of commitment or work ethic that fueled their collapse?
I would say it was both. Some guys couldn't perform in the clutch - nothing to do with how many hours they practiced or worked out or how hard they worked out. Mental toughness is a commitment issue. Some guys were out of shape and either too tired or too sore to perform to expectations. That is a work ethic problem.
In sales, unlike sports, work ethic is nice, but given a choice between strong work ethic OR strong commitment, I'll take the salesperson with strong commitment.

Related Articles
  The Delayed Impact of Lack of Sales Commitment
  How important is a work ethic?
  The Difference between Motivation and Commitment
  Start them Young to Help them Succeed in the Workplace
  Lesson #3: Your Work Ethic Is Your Most Important Asset
  The 5 “Secrets” of closing the sale
  Push or Pull
  Sales Interview Questions from a Sales Coach
  3 " c"s are making difference in the leadership
  The Difference Between Desire and Commitment
  Do You Need Experience to Own a Franchise?
  Encouraging competition
  A Healthy Disregard
  What Does it Mean When You Can't Reach Your Sales Team?
  Developing a Strong Work Ethic for Online Business
  The You Can Tell If A New Hire Will Succeed In The First Two Months Myth
  Sales Assessment Comparison - Objective Management Group vs. Devine
  Stop Saying “Work Smarter, Not Harder” and Great Things Shall Happen!
  10 Reasons Why Sales Commitment Has Become More Important
  Ten Ways to Drive Sales

Home > Sales > Dave Kurlan > The Difference Between Sales Commitment and Work Ethic >
Article Tags: commitment, hard work, sales, sales motivation

About the Author: Dave Kurlan
RSS for Dave's articles - Visit Dave's website

Dave Kurlan is a best-selling author, top-rated speaker and thought leader on sales development.  He is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling (Dan Seidman), Stepping Stones (Deepak Chopra and Brian Tracey) and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2 (David Riklan).

Click here to visit Dave's website Dashed Line

Understanding the Sales Force
More from Dave Kurlan
Salesperson Selection
Predict Sales Turnover
Visual Pipeline


Related Forum Posts
Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing
Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional Re: Online Sales and Marketing vs Traditional - [quote="ltrahan":31w9r2iz]Hi Evan, I am noticing that many of the posts in the Sales/Marketing section deal with online marketing, SEM and and SEO and Affiliates. I was wondering if it might be a good idea to separate that section into two; 1) Online Sales and Marketing; 2) Traditional Sales and Marketing[/quote:31w9r2iz] I second the request...
Re: What's your top tip for balancing your business and taking t Re: What's your top tip for balancing your business and taking t - Proper Work management meeting your all deadlines....
Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners Re: Five Personality Traits of Successful Business Owners - 1. Focus 2. Ability to Adapt 3. Hard Work 4. Good planning 5. People Skills
Re: Books for the Entrepreneur Re: Books for the Entrepreneur - Another great book for internet entrepreneurs is The Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris MichelleJ


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.



Featured Article

Bottom Footer



Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Popular Articles

Having It All... With No Sleep

12 Principles to Spark Innovation

Listen to Your Inner Melody
Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.