|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |
|
The mysterious case of the gun shy salesman...
|
| Guest post by: Kirk Kjellberg |
Article Overview: People can become gun shy as well as dogs. This article explored the idea of a gun shy salesman as well as what can be done to repair the condition.
![]() |
Free Download - Stress isn't real! By Kirk Kjellberg |
The mysterious case of the gun shy salesman...
The mysterious case of the gun shy salesman...
Recently
I went to the local kennel to get my youngest lab Ella ready for
pheasant hunting this fall. I had worked with her last year but she
was a bit "gun shy", (scared of gunfire). She loves to chase birds and
hunts for them and the ever-hated Chipmunks all the time, but gunfire
is something that she finds rather unappealing.
My two other labs act like kids on Christmas morning that have had
a two shots of espresso, and a sugar cookie. Gunfire to them simply
means "birds". The dog trainer has laid out and intensive two week
course for Ella to follow in order to get her "bird crazy" while slowly
adding in the gun sound in.
Here is the $64,000 question: Why are some salespeople conditioned
to always feel like they are about to get "birds" in spite of gunfire,
and some salespeople hide out at the thought of it? A better question
might be how are you behaving at the sound of gunfire, both personally
and recessionary?
The all powerful NO is gunfire to salespeople. Even hearing things
like, "oh I am sorry, he just stepped into a meeting" for the fifth
time. With the extended sales cycles and sometimes crushing
competition, even a great dog can lose it's excitement for gunfire when
the birds are no where to be seen for extended periods. In the south
you'll often hear the saying, that dog won't hunt!
Are you out hunting? Do you prospect? If so how often and how
hard? Are you working new leads, new names, going to new events,
throwing events of your own? Are you gun shy? If so, who can blame
you! Our recent financial catastrophe has had the most seasoned
business people hiding under their desks.
In my coaching, I had a salesperson who was terrible gun shy. She
did anything to keep from facing gunfire. She milled around the office,
over mothering the few deals she did have to the point of irrating her
support staff. It isn't hard to avoid the activities of sales, just
stay busy with the unimportant details...
How can you fix a gun shy in a salesperson? Well for Ella the
Labrador, the trainer gets her excited about birds. Everyday for 2
weeks, they throw decoys into the pond and let her chase around some
live ones too. She gets into the fun of the hunt so much, the gun fire
becomes background noise.
That is just what I want from you after you read this article. Get
off your butt and chase up some new birds. Go to a neighboring city's
Chamber meeting as a guest, go to a BNI meeting as a guest, go
anywhere, strike up a conversation. You can network without selling,
and no selling means no chance of hear gunfire in the form of a no.
Just, "Hello, my name is (insert your name here). What kind of
business are you in...", you get the drift. Just get out and attend.
Walk into a prospects office and just ask for the card of the owner and
leave. Start offering to help someone else or on a project or
committee. MEET NEW PEOPLE.
If after a week, (or two at most), of meet and greet you can't get
it together enough to get prospect and expand your horizons by learning
how to tweet or getting linked up on Linkedin, you should look for a
coach or change jobs. (I would hate to see you starve...)
So there you have it, we all get overwhelmed. But you can retrain
your response to the gunfire of no! Ella can do it and so can you.
Happy hunting...
Article Tags: chipmunks, christmas morning, desks, docume 1, dog trainer, fifth time, financial catastrophe, great dog, gun shy, gun sound, hearing things, mysterious case, new leads, pheasant, sales cycles, salespeople, salesperson, sound of gunfire, sugar cookie, two shots
Referred by: http://www.salesblogcast.com
|
About the Author: Kirk Kjellberg RSS for Kirk's articles - Visit Kirk's website Kirk Kjellberg, has thirty years of business operations and sales experience. A published author and seasoned salesperson and sales manager himself, he has worked for giant companies such as Waste Management, Inc., training companies such as Dale Carnegie Training, Inc. as well as several entrepreneurial pursuits of his own. Being exposed to and trained in both coaching and consulting disciplines combined with his extensive sales experience is a definite advantage to the reader, as Kirk delivers a dual path experience that combines the best of both worlds.. To succeed you must be able to sell, period. Click here to visit Kirk's website Stress isnt real Women Rule and Men Drool at Relationshipbased Sales The mysterious case of the gun shy salesman The difference between a rut and a grave Turning contacts to contracts |
Related Forum Posts
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.
Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
The OLD Way of Advertising, May Not be so OLD
Clues to Increase Sales -- Listen to the Buyer
Remind Me...
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.



