What have you done lately to hone your selling skills?
Selling is a skill. It is not a talent. It is the oldest and newest profession on earth – skills must constantly evolve to keep pace.
The question of tenure versus skill came to mind during a recent workshop that I was invited to host. As participants presented their respective positions following an exercise designed to uncover needs and define the pain associated with the absence of the client ’s solution, a tenured rep disagreed with an approach presented by a colleague. As the discussion unfolded the debate grew more polarized. When the more tenured rep took the stand that his experience made him right the less tenured rep said “Tell it like it was, Dan. Tell it like it was.” As tempers settled it was apparent that what was really going on was that the tenured rep was applying a false argument or logical fallacy often used to discredit a debate opponent by attacking the credibility of that opponent rather than the premise of the opponent ’s position.
Okay, to be clear, this is not an article about debate tactics. But I could not help but recognize the danger of the confidence and comfort that tenure had imbued upon the more experienced attendees. Tenure alone does not make one “right”. Tenure only implies capabilities that result from experience. But does time always mean experience? Does experience always mean success? If someone does something wrong for a long time does it become “right”?
A sales call is not a natural conversation. Selling is a skill. Practice ‐ Practice ‐ Practice. As our value increases with tenure are we practicing our profession so that our skills are reflective of our tenure?
What do you think?
Chuck – Cogency Group
