-I say, I say, I say… My dog gets no “No’s”.
“How does he sell?”
-Brilliantly.
It’s true. Dogs are great at sales… if you don’t believe me, just look at the TV adverts.
Of course, they haven’t done any Negotiation Skills courses, or Advanced Influence Skills 1.01, or Consultative Selling Masterclasses. So how do they manage to get you out of bed half an hour early, in driving wind and pouring rain, and have you walk a mile or more before breakfast?!
I am sure I’m not alone in noticing the proliferation of courses in sales, time management, leadership, management, negotiation, presentation, entrepreneurship… And I’m sure they are all terrific. But, it is not a lack of skills which prevent people performing brilliantly. In business, most people know what they should be doing most of the time. They have more skills than they know what to do with! They are not lacking in knowledge or techniques/skills. But the application of these skills and the application of raw talent is so often blocked.
Indeed, at the conclusion of a Presentation skills course, many delegates who have been taught all the skills will still feel , “Help! I can’t do it because I’ll never remember all those techniques!” Indeed, they may be even more afraid to do a presentation in front of an audience because they are now aware that they can’t employ all those skills.
The question “Are sales people born or made?” Or for that matter, “Are leaders born or made?” or “Are entrepreneurs born or made?” has had a fair airing. We are all born with immense talents in these areas which go largely untapped. Indeed we are born, then unmade! Our learned fears, associations, personal limitations, barriers, and habits take over to quash peak performance.
We need to re-make… not through the addition of new skills, but by the encouragement and nurturing of natural talents and strengths. We want natural style to shine through. Performance development must be based on the removal of barriers which currently block excellence, and which prevent us using our true abilities.
We can all equate to how people perform amazingly well in an emergency. They couldn’t tell you which skills they used. But could tell you how they felt, what they were thinking, and how this translated into performance. They didn’t consciously have to summon up extra motivation or a set of skills. Their performance was instinctive. It came from a removal of barriers, clarity of focus, and an unquestioning mindset. And it’s the same with entrepreneurs, with top salespeople.
At a recent Business seminar attended by around 100 people, as an aside, I asked the audience, “How many of you are in sales?” Three people raised their hands… gingerly. I’m sure you get the point!
It’s about mindset. Until you think of yourself as a great salesperson, a great leader, a great businessperson, an extraordinary entrepreneur, the likelihood is that you will be leaving your natural abilities in these areas largely untapped..