Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Stay With It!

Stay With It!

Some years ago, Earl Nightingale, the radio commentator and lecturer, was being interviewed by a couple who were writing a book about famous people and how they overcame adversity to reach success. In the course of the discussion, Earl pointed out that famous people were no different than the average person when it came to success. He said, “Most people have to overcome obstacles along the way and just because one person receives some notoriety over another does not make that person any more a hero than the average person working through his problems.” The couple persisted to find the key to Nightingale’s success. After much questioning he told them that three simple words helped him reach the pinnacle of his profession. Those three words were simply, “stay with it.”

When working with sales professionals to help them move from order-taking, operational mindsets into successful proactive sales approaches, sales trainers find that these people go through stages that loosely resemble the four phases of learning. These stages are easily recognized in those individuals being trained, as an instructor works to help them make the behavioral changes necessary for successful selling careers.

Since most sales professionals do not set out to be sales representatives, there are certain ideas and concepts inherent in the selling process that may be totally new and foreign to you. In the learning process, we call this stage “unconscious incompetence,”—not knowing what we don’t know. After being taught specific sales concepts, a professional receives an intellectual understanding of a series of sales techniques or methods but still may be unable or unwilling to perform the activities that will bring about consistent sales success. This stage of behavioral change is called “conscious incompetence.”

In the third stage, you encounter a process called “conscious competence.” This is where most sales professionals either make the grade and move from order-taking activities (“tellin sellin”) into proactive sales habits that significantly increase their sales success. Or, at this stage they revert back to their old order-taking habits. This is a difficult step for most professionals because it takes concentration, hard work and a lot of practice. However, once selling and closing skills become second nature, you can reach a final stage of intuitive, successful behavior called “unconscious competence.” It is a fact that many who sell for a living, never reach this level of unconscious sales proficiency because they are unwilling to spend the time practicing the concepts they have been taught. Remember, psychologists suggest that it takes about 21 days to make or break a habit.

It is easy to gravitate back to the things we know how to do or with which we have a high comfort level. Those employees who are truly successful and literally make changes in their behavioral patterns, simply take the sales techniques they have been taught and stay with them long enough so that they achieve a new comfort level—unconscious competence! As you work to learn how to be a better salesperson and you are tempted to give up and move back to the ways you have done things in the past, always remember the three simple words Earl Nightingale used to become successful--“stay with it.”





Stay With It - To learn more about this author, visit Virden Thornton's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback

To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Virden Thornton
(Visit Virden's Website) VIRDEN J. THORNTON is the founder and President of The $elling Edge®, Inc. a 23 year old firm specializing in sales, customer relations, personal coaching and management training and development. Clients have included Sears Optical, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Deloitte & Touché, Bank One, Jefferson Pilot, and Wal-Mart to name a few. Virden is the author of Prospecting: The Key To Sales Success, Organizing For Sales Success, 101 Sales Management Myths, A Realtor's Success Formula, and two best sellers 101 Sales Myths and Building & Closing The Sale. He also has a video/audio tape training program entitled Close That Sale, published by Thompson Learning. He has also authored a Self-Directed Learning series of sales, coaching & team development, telemarketing and personal productivity training guides. To obtain a substantial discount on two of Virden's new manuals, 101 Sales Myths and Organizing For Sales Success, just go to http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/book1 .htm Note: You can contact Virden at virden@TheSellingEdge.com. You can also see an expanded biography at: http://www.TheSellingEdge.com/bio.h tm

Virden Thornton is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Virden Thornton's

Complete
List Of
Sales
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Virden Thornton's Complete List of Sales Articles For FREE!

More Virden Thornton
Impressions Vital To Sales Success
Turn Inquiries Into Solid Sales
Program Your Biocomputer For Sales Success
HiringA Vital Key In Sales Management Success
The Truth About Sale Success
How Paretos Principle Impacts Your Sales Success
The Being Efficient Myth In Sales
The Finding Common Ground Sales Technique Is A Myth
Is Your Message Getting Through
The 8020 Rule Fallacy In Sales
Free Downloads


 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Dave Kurlan  
Jay Kubassek  
Casey Gollan  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's 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:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Get Ready for The Recovery Icon Get Ready for The Recovery
Put Yourself Into the Top 3% Icon Put Yourself Into the Top 3%
Marketing ScoreCard Icon Marketing ScoreCard
ACES Research Report Icon ACES Research Report
Make Attitude Your Ally Icon Make Attitude Your Ally
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Choose A PR Topic
Choose A PR Topic
Press Release Builder
 
Top 50 Productivity Blogs To Watch In 2009
Top 50 Productivity Blogs
Top Blogs To Watch In 2009
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Boèvi Jacob Lawson Lomé, Togo,
Boèvi Jacob Lawson
Lomé, Togo
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
Dana Zita, > $2.5 Mil in revenues
Dana Zita
> $2.5 Mil in revenues
Travis Hartley, 426% Growth in 2 Years
Travis Hartley
426% Growth in 2 Years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
P.T. Barnum, Barnum Circus
P.T. Barnum
Barnum Circus
Chad Hurley Steve Chen, YouTube
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Guy Kawasaki, The Art of the Start
Guy Kawasaki
The Art of the Start
Michael Gerber, The E Myth
Michael Gerber
The E Myth
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Get Prospects Chasing YouSuper Size the Experience You Bring to the Table in EVERY Interaction
By Alan Boyer
     Power Sales Words That Paint Powerful Pictures in the Prospectives Mind
By Alan Boyer
     30 Seconds to Explosive Networking & Sales Results
By Alan Boyer

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons 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 and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information