Desperate Dennis

Guest post by: Trent Leyshan
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Find fear before it finds you - By Trent Leyshan

Don the management consultant arrived 5 minutes late to a public sales seminar I was conducting.

The rest of the participants had arrived early for their 8.45am registration and had been chatting to each other. He apologised for being late and then rushed in and sat down. His body language was stiff and noticeably anxious. Although now behind schedule, for Don's benefit, again, I asked everyone in the training group to quickly introduce themselves and describe what business they were in. All were happy to oblige.

A couple of minutes into the introductions, I sensed Don's energy. He seemed disengaged and uninterested in the stories the others were sharing. I continued into the morning break paying extra attention to him but not at the detriment of anyone else. As soon as the other participants left the room for the break, Don approached me and explained the seminar was not what he expected. He thought the content was about generating more leads. This was not advertised. I explained the session was about the ‘sales fundamentals'-things that are easy to do but easier to forget. He responded, "No thanks, I'm really busy, I just need more leads." His comment didn't make a lot of sense to me. Clearly sensing he had made his mind up, I told him that's not in our content for today and offered and refund. He agreed promptly, but pretended he didn't care about the money.

Don had white-grey hair and the lines on his face told me he was in the twilight of his career. He looked stressed and his desperation was obvious. When everyone returned from the short break I explained that Don had left for his own reasons. With a collective shrug of the shoulders' everyone quickly drew their attention to my presentation on the big screen. Unperturbed I continued with the seminar.

What Don missed in the next section would have provided the answers to most of his sales problems. The next section was about: aligning values and buying-in and being interested in others; The ABC's of selling-Always be Contributing; The Seven Sales Pillars-Presentation, Preparation, People Skills, Passion, Persistence, Patience and Process. We explored how to create and develop Business Friendships and a RetroService culture by harnessing change but not forgetting the fundamentals of human interaction: courtesy, politeness, integrity, listening, trust and loyalty.

Also in attendance was a young girl starting her business journey, Taylor. Don and her worlds couldn't be further apart. She had just graduated from High School and came along with her step-father who owned a promising online start-up business. In a relaxed manner she listened intently throughout the entire session and engaged and contributed were she could. Her receptors were wide open and she devoured the content as nourishment. Taylor wants to get into PR and marketing when she graduates from university and is already investing in her own development. If she stays on this path her success will only be limited by her imagination.

As for Don, he is mostly likely still chasing leads. Had he stayed and taken the opportunity to contribute-he would have learned: when you get the fundamentals right the business will chase you!

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Find fear before it finds you - By Trent Leyshan

About the Author: Trent Leyshan

RSS for Trent's articles - Visit Trent's website

Trent Leyshan is founder, CEO of BOOM!

A leading international sales training company that specialises in the development of inspirational sales cultures, leaders and salespeople.

Early in his career Trent was head tradeshow spruiker and sales manager for Australia's most flamboyant TV salesman, Big Kev.

He has since driven two of his own companies from lounge room operations into market leaders. And led sales teams in leading new media and advertising agencies.

Trent is a sought after expert and facilitator on sales performance and strategy. He is the Author of sales book, The Naked Salesman: How to walk the talk and sell your way to success!

BOOM! develops sales training strategies and delivers inspiring learning experiences for some of the world's most successful and demanding sales driven organisations. Empowering them with modern skills and tools to effectively engage with customers and build stronger and more valuable relationships.

Click here to visit Trent's website.

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