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Through the looking glass

Guest post by: Sue Barrett

Article Overview: Many sales people are tired of being told that they need to sell like someone else to be successful. Many are unsure of what they should be modelling. Too often they are told to ‘just be like’ someone else but with no reference to what that actually looks like they are left poking around in the dark mimicking the ‘star’ performer and left feeling unauthentic. And ‘big sticks’, bribes or fear don’t help either. Most people, and especially sales people, want to be the best they can be but without having to be someone else. Clearly defining what good performance looks like is key. Here is a model we use where we focus on three key areas...

Through the looking glass

Many sales people are tired of being told that they need to sell like someone else to be successful. Many are unsure of what they should be modelling. Too often they are told to ‘just be like’ someone else but with no reference to what that actually looks like they are left poking around in the dark mimicking the ‘star’ performer and left feeling unauthentic. And ‘big sticks’, bribes or fear don’t help either.

Most people, and especially sales people, want to be the best they can be but without having to be someone else. Clearly defining what good performance looks like is key. Here is a model we use at Barrett where we focus on three key areas:

The Three Dimensions of Optimal Performance

1. KNOWLEDGE: General awareness or possession of information, facts, ideas, truths or principles.
2. SKILLS & PROCESSES: A series of actions directed towards a specific aim. The ability to do something well, usually gained through training or experience.
3. INSIGHT: The ability to see clearly and intuitively into the nature of a complex person, situation or subject; a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines somebody’s behaviour and outlook.

Putting practical tools and processes into the hands of sales people and sales managers are an important step however, the first step is giving people insight into their own strengths and capabilities and allowing them to change from the inside out. Seeing what is possible and being able to model their capabilities and attributes on top performers whilst retaining their own identity as a person is crucial. Articulating exactly what that is by using the model above puts real content on the table.

With the product edge gone, the key differentiator will be your people. Enlightened leaders are focusing on understanding their people and helping their people understand themselves and what motivates and drives them. They are taking note of how people think and make decisions. Creating the best team for your business will be about how you play to your people’s strengths to achieve goals and fulfill ambitions. Teaching people how to transform their capabilities, communicate more effectively, and how to manage their behaviours and mindsets are critical.

Gaining deeper insight into self and others is much more than just navel-gazing. With proper resources and support, insight can be a life changing experience for people and can greatly enhance company success. While for a number of years we have been focusing on skills and processes, we are now realising the importance of people and their role in business. Enlightened leaders will be supporting their people in gaining deeper insight and more knowledge.

Insight means having Choices; working with clear Purpose; Self and Other Awareness; knowing your Capabilities; developing your Creativity; building Resilience; and Self Direction.

Knowledge means having a clear Strategy; access to well defined Processes; good Information; Role Clarity; clearly defined Tasks; Standards of High Performance; Responsibilities; and the ability to make Decisions.

In addition to skills and processes, giving sales people access to insight and knowledge allows for the cultivation of sales wisdom because achieving sales mastery is about working from the inside out.

Remember everybody lives by selling something.

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Article Tags: Attitudes Behaviours, Emotional Intelligence, Performance Management, Sales Management, Sales Training, Strategy



Related Forum Posts
Re: Don’t worry, Enrich your life and Be happy - Hi Christopher, Welcome to the forum. I used to be a pessimist like you, one day I was in a lecture and came out with this: The glass is not half full and half empty, the glass is completely full, half water (or wine - your choice) and half air. Air is not nothing, it is everything. Since then it was easier for me to push the bad thoughts away, and my husband helped too. BTW, it was a chemistry lecture. Good luck
Betting on the law of averages - Dale Carnegie says "As the years went by, I gradually discovered that ninety-nine per cent of the things I worried about never happened... The most famous insurance company on earth-Lloyd's of London-has made countless millions of dollars out of the tendency of everybody to worry about things that rarely happen. Lloyd's of London bets people that the disasters they are worrying about will never occur. However, they don't call it betting. They call it insurance. But it is really betting based on the law of averages...don't happen nearly so often as people imagine" ("How to Stop Worrying and Start Living" 67 & 68). In the past, I think I spent an additional $130 for "3 Year Return to Depot Service and Technical Support" when I bought my Dell laptop and $30 for 2 years of replacement protection for my glass desk. While I've had to call Dell for technical support for my laptop on a few occasions, I've yet to replace any glass panel on my desk.
Milk chocolate! - Milk chocolate with a big glass of icey cold milk! Yum! Kevin- I would not pay that much for chocolate from anywhere, not even Paris and not even if the maker himself brought it to me on a silver platter! LOL
And This is Handy Too! - [quote:31wl64vf]Develop Fingerprints! Place a small wad of cotton, saturated with tincture of iodine, in a glass tube; blow against suspected fingerprints, and they will appear. [/quote:31wl64vf] Must be of use to all you entrepreneurs out there!
Re: What to do at the first roadblock? - GT said, I think seeing that the glass (i.e. market or opportunity) is only half full is a good mindset to have rather than looking at the sheer number of competitors. I would have to agree. I think this is a great thing to think about in almost any situation, whether home or business. As I mentioned, attitude is 95% of the battle. Keeping it positive is the only way to get the things you really want in life. Helping others helps, too. See the quote in my signature.


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