I have a young woman who works for me
and she is a pretty fair salesperson for her
age. She isn't what I would call a sales
"natural." By that I mean that there are some
people who are just born with the gift of gab,
and they have sharp intuitive skills, which
naturally make them top notch salespeople.
That doesn't mean that all "naturals" are the
best salespeople. Many "naturals" are a shade
on the lazy side, and have to be pushed.
Other folks who aren't "naturals" often end up
at the top of the food chain. They have other
traits like discipline and determination that
help them get there.
My employee has both of those traits.
But she also has a trait that is holding her back.
Right now she is in the the top 20% of salespeople.
She could easily be in the top 5%.
But she is highly self critical. She analyzes and
critiques herself relentlessly.
Now it's okay to analyze and critique your
performance. I do it myself.
But I don't dwell on mistakes, errors, or bad
judgements. You can't go back and fix them.
And in our business, the sales business, you
get another chance all the time.
And you are still going to make mistakes all
the time, as I told this employee earlier in the
week. I'm a veteran of 20 years plus in this
business, and I still make mistakes all the time.
I like to focus on one thing at a time. If there is
a mistake I keep repeating, I try and fix that one
thing. There was a mistake I was making in sales
calls in 2007 that took me over four months to fix.
But I was never so preoccupied with that mistake
that I stopped selling. A friend of mine suggested
that I not use one particular word when I was
presenting. At first I thought he was nutso, and then
I tried what he said. He was dead on the money, and
it made it much easier to sell.
I now owe him a steak dinner.
There are enough critics in the world, so you don't
need to be one yourself. Do the best you can and
move on. Only try and fix one problem at a time.
I know you hear that word...multitask...all the time.
Forget it. I'll take the turtle over the hare any day of
the week.
From the big saddle,
Jim Whelan
P.S. The Whelan Air Express is just about due to
land in NYC. It looks like it's going to be a beautiful
weekend in January where it usually isn't. That's
good because I have a new pair of boots to break in.
You know where to find me if you need me.
206 407 3124
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