Forget Sales Training
Forget Sales Training
Impostor Syndrome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Impostor Syndrome, or Impostor Phenomenon, sometimes called Fraud Syndrome, is not an officially recognized psychological disorder, but has been the subject of a number of books and articles by psychologists and educators. Individuals experiencing this syndrome seem unable to internalize their accomplishments. Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study, or what external proof they may have of their competence, they remain convinced internally that they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are really frauds.
Here is what happened. I was working on the Opening the Sale chapter with our Vice President of Product Development, Steve Previdi. I was developing better ways to drive across to our students certain techniques for the course. This is kind of fun. But I always have a little voice in my head that continues to talk at the same time I do. Let me make matters worse: the voice is schizophrenic. Sometimes it tells me that I am not using currently accepted terminology as voiced by academic organizations. Words such as “metrics” instead of my favorite, “statistics.” Other times it tells me I am voicing too complex of a concept for a simple technique.
I do have to be careful. There are a bunch of people in about 20 countries using this material. That means it has been accepted and used with success. So here I am in Los Angeles writing, and a salesperson in Brazil reads Nao, Obrigado Estou So Olhando! (No Thanks, I’m Just Looking! translated to Portuguese), and they make a few extra sales. I should be thrilled and satisfied. And yet that ever-present voice pops up in my head.
Dear readers of this article: I really shouldn’t let you in my head; it’s kind of personal. But you’re invited just this once.
“This is too much!” The voice says, “Silly, complicated, and over the top. All salespeople need to know about opening the sale is to greet people with a truly welcoming and genuine smile. You know, an ‘I’m glad you’re here’ kind of thing that is not threatening.” So I pause for a moment. Steve, who is tape recording my dissertation, turns off the recorder and waits. He’s polite that way.
What I have never expressed to him is, “You’re going to have to wait a few moments while I battle the voice.” Inevitably I start chatting again, and further progress is made on delivering a very good course.
Any particular point that you’re making here with this article Mr. Friedman?
Yup. All you need is a salesperson who wants to make sales and managers who want to help salespeople make more sales. Think about it. How many salespeople do you employ that are there because it’s a job? Their personal motivation is not to become a great salesperson and be proud of their career.
Twenty-five years ago a sales trainer friend of mine, Jack Berman, told me that the two attributes all great salespeople share are drive and empathy. I have spent those 25 years trying to disprove the theory as too simple. Alas, he was right, darn it. I have spent all this time on technique, and it all boiled down to something I didn’t even come up with. The fraud of it all.
But I shan’t be so hard on myself. After all, people continue to participate in our courses and buy tons of books. Here is my way out. There are better ways to probe and make demonstrations. There are proven methods to handle objections that result in more sales. And my thesis on opening the even useful to salespeople who do not have the drive to succeed and express empathy for their customers.
Find that out first – because if they don’t have it, you won’t need sales training. Thanks for reading; I am going to take a couple of voices to lunch.
© 2008 The Friedman Group
Forget Sales Training - To learn more about this author, visit 's Website.
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Recently I was working on updating our Sales Masters Course, and I had one of those fraud moments.
Impostor Syndrome
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
The Impostor Syndrome, or Impostor Phenomenon, sometimes called Fraud Syndrome, is not an officially recognized psychological disorder, but has been the subject of a number of books and articles by psychologists and educators. Individuals experiencing this syndrome seem unable to internalize their accomplishments. Regardless of what level of success they may have achieved in their chosen field of work or study, or what external proof they may have of their competence, they remain convinced internally that they do not deserve the success they have achieved and are really frauds.
Here is what happened. I was working on the Opening the Sale chapter with our Vice President of Product Development, Steve Previdi. I was developing better ways to drive across to our students certain techniques for the course. This is kind of fun. But I always have a little voice in my head that continues to talk at the same time I do. Let me make matters worse: the voice is schizophrenic. Sometimes it tells me that I am not using currently accepted terminology as voiced by academic organizations. Words such as “metrics” instead of my favorite, “statistics.” Other times it tells me I am voicing too complex of a concept for a simple technique.
I do have to be careful. There are a bunch of people in about 20 countries using this material. That means it has been accepted and used with success. So here I am in Los Angeles writing, and a salesperson in Brazil reads Nao, Obrigado Estou So Olhando! (No Thanks, I’m Just Looking! translated to Portuguese), and they make a few extra sales. I should be thrilled and satisfied. And yet that ever-present voice pops up in my head.
Dear readers of this article: I really shouldn’t let you in my head; it’s kind of personal. But you’re invited just this once.
“This is too much!” The voice says, “Silly, complicated, and over the top. All salespeople need to know about opening the sale is to greet people with a truly welcoming and genuine smile. You know, an ‘I’m glad you’re here’ kind of thing that is not threatening.” So I pause for a moment. Steve, who is tape recording my dissertation, turns off the recorder and waits. He’s polite that way.
What I have never expressed to him is, “You’re going to have to wait a few moments while I battle the voice.” Inevitably I start chatting again, and further progress is made on delivering a very good course.
Any particular point that you’re making here with this article Mr. Friedman?
Yup. All you need is a salesperson who wants to make sales and managers who want to help salespeople make more sales. Think about it. How many salespeople do you employ that are there because it’s a job? Their personal motivation is not to become a great salesperson and be proud of their career.
Twenty-five years ago a sales trainer friend of mine, Jack Berman, told me that the two attributes all great salespeople share are drive and empathy. I have spent those 25 years trying to disprove the theory as too simple. Alas, he was right, darn it. I have spent all this time on technique, and it all boiled down to something I didn’t even come up with. The fraud of it all.
But I shan’t be so hard on myself. After all, people continue to participate in our courses and buy tons of books. Here is my way out. There are better ways to probe and make demonstrations. There are proven methods to handle objections that result in more sales. And my thesis on opening the even useful to salespeople who do not have the drive to succeed and express empathy for their customers.
Find that out first – because if they don’t have it, you won’t need sales training. Thanks for reading; I am going to take a couple of voices to lunch.
© 2008 The Friedman Group
Forget Sales Training - To learn more about this author, visit 's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan 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 and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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John AlexanderJohn has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website |
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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