AG Salesworks is pleased to bring you a guest post from Jeff Shore, an in-demand sales expert, author, speaker and executive coach.
Learning to dance the East Coast Swing has long been on my bucket list. Because life is short and I’m not getting any younger, I’ve started chipping away at this goal. “Chipping away” is not the most elegant description, I realize, but given my diagnosable rhythmic impairment, it is accurate. Let’s just say that this is how I imagine I look when dancing:
And this is how I actually look:
So yeah, I’m working on that.
The process of learning a specific dance is similar to building a career in sales in that there are some basic but critical steps that will get you where you want to be (and keep your knees from buckling and your face off the floor.)
1. Get Good Instruction
We’re talking about your career here... Don’t sell yourself short or waste time by not connecting with effective mentors. My dance instructor embodies the perfect blend of encourager and perfectionist. Who can be that for you? When you think big picture about your career, spending a few thousand bucks on coaching is a very small investment that will likely result in disproportionately large returns over the long haul. And for the record, I put my money where my mouth is: I will spend over $10K this year on career coaching for myself. Yes, that’s a lot of jack, but doing this keeps me accountable to always be improving my performance. (Reading free vocational advice online inspires zero accountability!)
2. Practice (Get Your Ego Out of the Way!)
If you’re a normal, red-blooded human being, practicing your skills is not your favorite thing to do. (That may be putting it mildly.) And practicing in front of other people…ugh! How do you get past the “ugh?” Think of it this way: you need to decide if your ego will be the single biggest factor in shutting down your skill development. If it is, good luck with that. If not, then get over yourself and make practicing a routine part of your life. Getting over yourself = getting better at what you do. I’m dancing in private at present; soon the whole world will see!
3. Perfect the Most Critical Moves
There are some basic moves that are the foundation of every dance; everything else is just for show. Similarly, the basis of the sales presentation comes down to how you perform in critical moments. Building rapport, determining the pain, finding personalized value, asking for the sale: these are the critical moves. Get these down (see step 2.) and then get them down some more. And some more. More. Practice until those critical moves become second nature.
4. Have Fun
Have you ever seen an uptight dancer perform? It’s not pretty. And, it’s contagious. When we watch someone who is tense and awkward, we feel the same way. It’s weird how that works, but we all know it’s true. It’s the same way with salespeople. Overly aggressive, intense, serious, bored, or annoyed salespeople bring all of those feelings to the sales presentation and they quickly spread to customers. Don’t be that person. Loosen up! Don’t take yourself so seriously. (A boatload of practicing will free you up to have fun…see how that works?!) If you are having fun doing your work, it will be good for you and even better for your customer.
Learn the sales dance by remaining a student. Perfect the moves that will engage and impress your customers, and you will change their world.
Jeff Shore is a highly sought-after sales expert, speaker, author and executive coach whose innovative BE BOLD methodology teaches you how to change your mindset and change your world. His latest book, "Be Bold and Win the Sale: Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Boost Your Performance," (McGraw-Hill) was published in January, 2014. Learn more at jeffshore.com and follow Jeff on Twitter and ‘like’ his page on Facebook.
