The Highest Ethical Standards Approach for Success – Next Steps
If you’re truly serious about building a strong foundation of trust with your customers, you must be committed to providing them with full or total disclosure about every aspect of the product or service you are selling.
(Paragraph excerpted from Selling Through Personal Integrity, Frugal Speaker blog post, April 23, 2009, by Kenton W. Davis.)
In the previous post, we identified “providing total disclosure” as another important step toward building a strong foundation of trust with your customers. In this post, we touch on the importance of presenting yourself as a deeply knowledgeable professional.
The next step is to be an expert!
Building a strong foundation of trust with your customers requires you to be an expert in all facets of your business. Beyond delivering a masterful sales presentation, you must also possess an impressive level of product knowledge, be capable of correctly addressing any service and delivery related questions, and demonstrate flawless execution of the contracting and financing paperwork.
In a selling situation, are you capable of unequivocally answering, both factually and honestly, any questions that your customers might throw at you? The operative words here are, of course, “factually” and “honestly”. In today’s business environment, making it up as you go along, winging it, or simply not knowing the answers, will only serve to reinforce the current growing consumer perception that it is simply too risky to trust a salesperson. Whether shamelessly unethical or simply unprepared, none of the above can be considered an acceptable manner in which to respond to a customer’s question.
With consumer confidence hanging precariously in the balance these days, the slightest misstep by a salesperson can cause the “scales of trust” to tip away from making a sale— and rightfully so. The consumer deserves to be served by an expert, someone completely knowledgeable and ethically committed to earning their business.
Today’s successful sales professional must strive harder to be the consummate professional and present themselves as a deeply knowledgeable professional— an expert. They must be completely honest about what they know and what they don’t know, and committed to continually learning more about the products and services they are selling. They must bring an uncompromised level of preparedness to every interaction with the customer, while applying nothing short of the highest ethical standards approach for success.
Continue to stay tuned for success and the final post in this series!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Selling Through Personal Integrity
The Highest Ethical Standards Approach for Success – Next Steps
When you develop and employ the right selling philosophy, you become a unique type of sales professional — one that customers will trust and actually desire to do business with.
(Paragraph excerpted from Selling Through Personal Integrity, Frugal Speaker blog post, April 20, 2009, by Kenton W. Davis.)
In the last post, we established the importance of developing a “do the right thing” selling philosophy as the first step toward building a strong foundation of trust with your customers. This next step falls into the category of “the more challenging bit”, and will likely test the ethical mettle of many sales professionals.
The next step is to provide total disclosure!
If you’re truly serious about building a strong foundation of trust with your customers, you must be committed to providing them with full or total disclosure about every aspect of the product or service you are selling. Total disclosure ensures that the customer has all the information they need to make an intelligent and truly informed decision.
Let’s take a look at how the Free Legal Dictionary by Farlex defines the term “full disclosure”: full disclosure n. the need in business transactions to tell the "whole truth" about any matter which the other party should know in deciding to buy or contract...
Not much wiggle room in that definition!
Although it may seem counterintuitive to purposefully enlarge the “fine print” in the business transaction before the sale is finalized as part of one’s standard selling procedure, this is exactly what today’s professional salesperson needs to be doing to ensure continued success in the future.
Your willingness to openly discuss every aspect of the sale with your customer, beyond the usual “features and benefits” roll up, financing and credit stuff, and the perfunctory review of legally required disclosures— even to the point of determining that the product or service you’re selling may not be right for them— is the level of transparency that today’s consumer will expect in return for their trust and ultimately their business.
Continue to stay tuned for success!
When you develop and employ the right selling philosophy, you become a unique type of sales professional — one that customers will trust and actually desire to do business with.
(Paragraph excerpted from Selling Through Personal Integrity, Frugal Speaker blog post, April 20, 2009, by Kenton W. Davis.)
In the last post, we established the importance of developing a “do the right thing” selling philosophy as the first step toward building a strong foundation of trust with your customers. This next step falls into the category of “the more challenging bit”, and will likely test the ethical mettle of many sales professionals.
The next step is to provide total disclosure!
If you’re truly serious about building a strong foundation of trust with your customers, you must be committed to providing them with full or total disclosure about every aspect of the product or service you are selling. Total disclosure ensures that the customer has all the information they need to make an intelligent and truly informed decision.
Let’s take a look at how the Free Legal Dictionary by Farlex defines the term “full disclosure”: full disclosure n. the need in business transactions to tell the "whole truth" about any matter which the other party should know in deciding to buy or contract...
Not much wiggle room in that definition!
Although it may seem counterintuitive to purposefully enlarge the “fine print” in the business transaction before the sale is finalized as part of one’s standard selling procedure, this is exactly what today’s professional salesperson needs to be doing to ensure continued success in the future.
Your willingness to openly discuss every aspect of the sale with your customer, beyond the usual “features and benefits” roll up, financing and credit stuff, and the perfunctory review of legally required disclosures— even to the point of determining that the product or service you’re selling may not be right for them— is the level of transparency that today’s consumer will expect in return for their trust and ultimately their business.
Continue to stay tuned for success!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Selling Through Personal Integrity
The Highest Ethical Standards Approach for Success – First Step
In order to repair the damage already done and earn back the consumer’s trust, the successful sales professional of the future will need to apply nothing short of the highest ethical standards approach for success.
(Paragraph excerpted from Selling Through Personal Integrity, Frugal Speaker blog post, April 16, 2009, by Kenton W. Davis.)
In the preceding post, we discussed how the constant negative news of fraud, schemes, and scams, combined with a struggling economy, has damaged the ethical image of the professional salesperson making it more difficult to earn the consumer’s trust.
Moving forward, we will be discussing specific steps you can take to build a strong foundation of trust with your customers and ensure your continued success as a sales professional.
The first step is to develop the right selling philosophy!
Your thoughts control your actions, not the other way around. More importantly, your thoughts are framed by your philosophy. Having the right selling philosophy is the single most important step toward earning the trust of your customers.
So, what exactly is the right selling philosophy? Simply stated, it is: Do the right thing and you’ll get the right results. Okay, so the basic principle is easy enough to understand. However, the more challenging bit is to determine what the “right thing” to do actually is— and then do it! For that answer, you need to look no further than the Golden Rule.
Harry J. Gensler, author of the book Formal Ethics, defines the rule like this:
The golden rule is best interpreted as saying: “Treat others only in ways that you’re willing to be treated in the same exact situation.” To apply it, you’d imagine yourself in the exact place of the other person on the receiving end of the action. If you act in a given way toward another, and yet are unwilling to be treated that way in the same circumstances, then you violate the rule.
In your career as a professional salesperson, when you are guided by a “do the right thing” philosophy, you work with your customers in the spirit of the Golden Rule, treating them in the exact manner that you would want to be treated if you were the customer. It means that the things you say and do remain the same regardless of whether or not someone is there watching you. It means providing your customers with an uncompromised level of personal and professional integrity— ensuring that your actions are always consistent with your words.
Although it may not be easily done, those whom truly embrace the do the right thing philosophy can overcome any negative associations that have been forged in the consumer’s mind by the recent unethical actions of so many in the news today.
When you develop and employ the right selling philosophy, you become a unique type of sales professional — one that customers will trust and actually desire to do business with.
Continue to stay tuned for success!
In order to repair the damage already done and earn back the consumer’s trust, the successful sales professional of the future will need to apply nothing short of the highest ethical standards approach for success.
(Paragraph excerpted from Selling Through Personal Integrity, Frugal Speaker blog post, April 16, 2009, by Kenton W. Davis.)
In the preceding post, we discussed how the constant negative news of fraud, schemes, and scams, combined with a struggling economy, has damaged the ethical image of the professional salesperson making it more difficult to earn the consumer’s trust.
Moving forward, we will be discussing specific steps you can take to build a strong foundation of trust with your customers and ensure your continued success as a sales professional.
The first step is to develop the right selling philosophy!
Your thoughts control your actions, not the other way around. More importantly, your thoughts are framed by your philosophy. Having the right selling philosophy is the single most important step toward earning the trust of your customers.
So, what exactly is the right selling philosophy? Simply stated, it is: Do the right thing and you’ll get the right results. Okay, so the basic principle is easy enough to understand. However, the more challenging bit is to determine what the “right thing” to do actually is— and then do it! For that answer, you need to look no further than the Golden Rule.
Harry J. Gensler, author of the book Formal Ethics, defines the rule like this:
The golden rule is best interpreted as saying: “Treat others only in ways that you’re willing to be treated in the same exact situation.” To apply it, you’d imagine yourself in the exact place of the other person on the receiving end of the action. If you act in a given way toward another, and yet are unwilling to be treated that way in the same circumstances, then you violate the rule.
In your career as a professional salesperson, when you are guided by a “do the right thing” philosophy, you work with your customers in the spirit of the Golden Rule, treating them in the exact manner that you would want to be treated if you were the customer. It means that the things you say and do remain the same regardless of whether or not someone is there watching you. It means providing your customers with an uncompromised level of personal and professional integrity— ensuring that your actions are always consistent with your words.
Although it may not be easily done, those whom truly embrace the do the right thing philosophy can overcome any negative associations that have been forged in the consumer’s mind by the recent unethical actions of so many in the news today.
When you develop and employ the right selling philosophy, you become a unique type of sales professional — one that customers will trust and actually desire to do business with.
Continue to stay tuned for success!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Selling Through Personal Integrity
The Highest Ethical Standards Approach for Success
In a business era flooded daily with negative news of ever-widening “widespread corporate fraud”, the discovery of new Ponzi schemes, and seemingly endless consumer scams, today’s consumers are becoming increasingly cynical toward anyone selling anything— and can we blame them?
The short answer is “no”. From the consumer’s perspective, to blindly trust today’s salesperson is risky business. After all, it is hard to argue against the fact that a large portion of the financial mess we’re dealing with today can be traced directly back to one recurrent moment— the point at which someone sold something to someone.
Now, admittedly, it does sound a bit extreme to imply that “salespeople" are somehow responsible for triggering the recent economic collapse, and that is certainly not my intent. However, it is reasonable to suggest that consumers are fairly upset about the rampant lack of personal and professional ethics in today’s business environment, and that they place some of the responsibility for the current financial mess on salespeople in general.
Whether the consumer’s anger is sustained in the direction of failed corporations like Enron, for promoting and “selling” $90 stock shares a day before they plunged into worthlessness, or redirected toward someone like Mr. Madoff, the former Chairman of NASDAQ turned “salesperson”, who swindled his investors out of billions, or currently focused on the countless mortgage "salespeople”, whom overzealously promoted sub-prime lending practices that ultimately hurt millions of homeowners, one thing is certain:
It is going to be much more difficult to earn the trust of the consumer in the future!
Unfortunately, none of these events has served to enhance the ethical image of today’s professional salesperson. In order to repair the damage and earn back the consumer’s trust, the successful sales professional of the future will need to apply nothing short of the highest ethical standards approach for success.
The next several posts will be part of a series called Selling Through Personal Integrity, which will detail the specific steps you can take to build a strong foundation of trust with your customers and ensure your continued success as a sales professional.
Stay tuned for success!
In a business era flooded daily with negative news of ever-widening “widespread corporate fraud”, the discovery of new Ponzi schemes, and seemingly endless consumer scams, today’s consumers are becoming increasingly cynical toward anyone selling anything— and can we blame them?
The short answer is “no”. From the consumer’s perspective, to blindly trust today’s salesperson is risky business. After all, it is hard to argue against the fact that a large portion of the financial mess we’re dealing with today can be traced directly back to one recurrent moment— the point at which someone sold something to someone.
Now, admittedly, it does sound a bit extreme to imply that “salespeople" are somehow responsible for triggering the recent economic collapse, and that is certainly not my intent. However, it is reasonable to suggest that consumers are fairly upset about the rampant lack of personal and professional ethics in today’s business environment, and that they place some of the responsibility for the current financial mess on salespeople in general.
Whether the consumer’s anger is sustained in the direction of failed corporations like Enron, for promoting and “selling” $90 stock shares a day before they plunged into worthlessness, or redirected toward someone like Mr. Madoff, the former Chairman of NASDAQ turned “salesperson”, who swindled his investors out of billions, or currently focused on the countless mortgage "salespeople”, whom overzealously promoted sub-prime lending practices that ultimately hurt millions of homeowners, one thing is certain:
It is going to be much more difficult to earn the trust of the consumer in the future!
Unfortunately, none of these events has served to enhance the ethical image of today’s professional salesperson. In order to repair the damage and earn back the consumer’s trust, the successful sales professional of the future will need to apply nothing short of the highest ethical standards approach for success.
The next several posts will be part of a series called Selling Through Personal Integrity, which will detail the specific steps you can take to build a strong foundation of trust with your customers and ensure your continued success as a sales professional.
Stay tuned for success!
Monday, April 13, 2009
Your True Selling Motives Revealed
The Eyes Are the Windows to the Soul
Your customers will see your true selling motives— guaranteed. From the moment they meet you, they are measuring everything you say and do. With the skill of a police sketch artist, they quickly begin to form a “values composite image” of you. By the time that they are finished, this mental image, and the resulting “gut feeling” they develop from it, will determine whether or not they trust you enough to do business with you. It’s just that simple.
The celebrated phrase “the eyes are the window to the soul”, helps to explain how your customers will make this important evaluation. While you are making your presentation, your customers will be peering right through those “windows” of yours, searching for clues that will help them evaluate your motives.
If you’re thinking about making a sale, mentally calculating how much money you’re about to make… good luck. It is highly unlikely that your customers will ignore the two giant dollar signs that appear in your eyes, suddenly trust you, and end up deciding to buy from you. Conversely, if you’re focused on representing the best interest of your customers, setting aside any thoughts of personal financial gain, the reflection is very different. Your customers will see how much you truly care, trust will develop, and they will be far more likely to buy something from you.
While you’re working with your customers, some of them may be conscious of the “values assessment” they are conducting, perhaps even providing you with verbal clues that they are sizing you up (i.e. questioning how long you have been in the business, asking if you are paid by commissions, etc.). However, most will simply decide whether or not to trust you based on the unconscious “gut feeling” they develop.
If you want to make more sales today, and enjoy a corresponding increase in earnings throughout your career, first do a little personal reflection. Decide what is really important. Suspend any thoughts of sales quotas, commissions, or other compensation, before you meet with your next customer and focus completely on representing their best interest. You’ll be amazed at the results.
Your customers will see your true selling motives— guaranteed. From the moment they meet you, they are measuring everything you say and do. With the skill of a police sketch artist, they quickly begin to form a “values composite image” of you. By the time that they are finished, this mental image, and the resulting “gut feeling” they develop from it, will determine whether or not they trust you enough to do business with you. It’s just that simple.
The celebrated phrase “the eyes are the window to the soul”, helps to explain how your customers will make this important evaluation. While you are making your presentation, your customers will be peering right through those “windows” of yours, searching for clues that will help them evaluate your motives.
If you’re thinking about making a sale, mentally calculating how much money you’re about to make… good luck. It is highly unlikely that your customers will ignore the two giant dollar signs that appear in your eyes, suddenly trust you, and end up deciding to buy from you. Conversely, if you’re focused on representing the best interest of your customers, setting aside any thoughts of personal financial gain, the reflection is very different. Your customers will see how much you truly care, trust will develop, and they will be far more likely to buy something from you.
While you’re working with your customers, some of them may be conscious of the “values assessment” they are conducting, perhaps even providing you with verbal clues that they are sizing you up (i.e. questioning how long you have been in the business, asking if you are paid by commissions, etc.). However, most will simply decide whether or not to trust you based on the unconscious “gut feeling” they develop.
If you want to make more sales today, and enjoy a corresponding increase in earnings throughout your career, first do a little personal reflection. Decide what is really important. Suspend any thoughts of sales quotas, commissions, or other compensation, before you meet with your next customer and focus completely on representing their best interest. You’ll be amazed at the results.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Desire and Drive
The Essential Components of Success
Throughout much of my career, I have been directly responsible for the initial recruitment, selection, training, and career development of many successful sales professionals. From entry level positions, through the strategic leadership level, I have learned that the greatest predictor of long-term success has little to do with how “experienced or talented” one is when first venturing into a new opportunity. Instead, I have discovered that the essential components for long-term success simply boil down to one’s level of desire and drive! When people possess a true desire to help others, along with the drive to do whatever it takes to reach their objectives, any potential experience or talent deficiencies are quickly overcome.
At the most fundamental level, experience can be defined as: the total accumulation of lessons learned. It represents nothing more than the depth of someone’s accessible potential in any given moment, with the operative word being potential. Without the desire and drive necessary to do something meaningful with their potential, the level of one’s “experience” is rendered quite worthless.
There is a popular maxim telling us that “knowledge is power”. I have a slightly different opinion. Yes, knowledge is important, but not necessarily powerful. In its purest form, knowledge represents little more than the ongoing collection of interesting information. Rather, it is the application of knowledge that becomes powerful. This is exactly where desire and drive step in. One must have the necessary desire and drive to continually apply their knowledge before it becomes powerful!
Take a look around you. All of us know someone who fits the profile of the classic underachiever. Although they may possess all the knowledge they need to achieve greatness, they default to the comfort of complacency in exchange for average performance and results. What’s missing? Desire and drive!
My recruiting and development philosophy is simple. If you possess enough desire and drive, it will take you anywhere you want to go. Experience and talent will ultimately follow.
Throughout much of my career, I have been directly responsible for the initial recruitment, selection, training, and career development of many successful sales professionals. From entry level positions, through the strategic leadership level, I have learned that the greatest predictor of long-term success has little to do with how “experienced or talented” one is when first venturing into a new opportunity. Instead, I have discovered that the essential components for long-term success simply boil down to one’s level of desire and drive! When people possess a true desire to help others, along with the drive to do whatever it takes to reach their objectives, any potential experience or talent deficiencies are quickly overcome.
At the most fundamental level, experience can be defined as: the total accumulation of lessons learned. It represents nothing more than the depth of someone’s accessible potential in any given moment, with the operative word being potential. Without the desire and drive necessary to do something meaningful with their potential, the level of one’s “experience” is rendered quite worthless.
There is a popular maxim telling us that “knowledge is power”. I have a slightly different opinion. Yes, knowledge is important, but not necessarily powerful. In its purest form, knowledge represents little more than the ongoing collection of interesting information. Rather, it is the application of knowledge that becomes powerful. This is exactly where desire and drive step in. One must have the necessary desire and drive to continually apply their knowledge before it becomes powerful!
Take a look around you. All of us know someone who fits the profile of the classic underachiever. Although they may possess all the knowledge they need to achieve greatness, they default to the comfort of complacency in exchange for average performance and results. What’s missing? Desire and drive!
My recruiting and development philosophy is simple. If you possess enough desire and drive, it will take you anywhere you want to go. Experience and talent will ultimately follow.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Extrovert vs. Introvert
Which is Better Suited for Sales Success?
Interestingly enough, when the question is asked, “Who do you think makes the best salesperson, the introvert or the extrovert?” most often the response is, “Why of course, the extrovert.” However, this age old belief may not necessarily be true.
The extrovert has long been typically viewed as the personality type best suited for sales. They are often described as “the life of the party”, the one most likely to strike up a conversation. On the other hand, the introvert is most often seen as the “quiet, more contemplative” one.
Throughout my career, I have seen both of these personality types successfully develop into outstanding sales professionals. So, which personality type is actually better suited for sales success? The answer is neither.
The stereotypical strength of the extrovert, the ability to strike up a conversation with just about anybody, about anything, can easily work against them when it is time for the customer to make an important decision. They will likely have a fairly easy time “networking” potential customers, but they may have a more difficult time “closing” them. They may have to work harder to present themselves as a knowledgeable expert and slow down a little bit to compensate for the widely unfair “fast-talking salesperson image” that they are often tagged with.
The stereotypical strength of the introvert, their perceived intelligence and credibility, certainly works in their favor when presenting the facts and figures, but can cause challenges in other areas. They may appear too quiet or come across as “aloof” in their interactions, which may make “relationship building” with the customer more difficult and compromise sales in that respect. Remember, people buy from people they like. The introvert may need to work on their “likeability factor” in order to be most effective.
Whether you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert, it will have little affect on your probability of success as a sales professional, as long as you realize that your greatest strength may also be your greatest weakness. If you are conscious of “who you are”, then you can work on developing some of the traits of your counterpart personality type to achieve balance and maximize your success potential.
Interestingly enough, when the question is asked, “Who do you think makes the best salesperson, the introvert or the extrovert?” most often the response is, “Why of course, the extrovert.” However, this age old belief may not necessarily be true.
The extrovert has long been typically viewed as the personality type best suited for sales. They are often described as “the life of the party”, the one most likely to strike up a conversation. On the other hand, the introvert is most often seen as the “quiet, more contemplative” one.
Throughout my career, I have seen both of these personality types successfully develop into outstanding sales professionals. So, which personality type is actually better suited for sales success? The answer is neither.
The stereotypical strength of the extrovert, the ability to strike up a conversation with just about anybody, about anything, can easily work against them when it is time for the customer to make an important decision. They will likely have a fairly easy time “networking” potential customers, but they may have a more difficult time “closing” them. They may have to work harder to present themselves as a knowledgeable expert and slow down a little bit to compensate for the widely unfair “fast-talking salesperson image” that they are often tagged with.
The stereotypical strength of the introvert, their perceived intelligence and credibility, certainly works in their favor when presenting the facts and figures, but can cause challenges in other areas. They may appear too quiet or come across as “aloof” in their interactions, which may make “relationship building” with the customer more difficult and compromise sales in that respect. Remember, people buy from people they like. The introvert may need to work on their “likeability factor” in order to be most effective.
Whether you consider yourself an extrovert or an introvert, it will have little affect on your probability of success as a sales professional, as long as you realize that your greatest strength may also be your greatest weakness. If you are conscious of “who you are”, then you can work on developing some of the traits of your counterpart personality type to achieve balance and maximize your success potential.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Become Their Assistant Buyer
Your New Sales Job Description
Rather than seeing your job as a salesperson, “selling to people”, start seeing the work you do differently. Stop selling to your customers and start representing them instead! Become their assistant buyer.
Becoming your customer’s assistant buyer fundamentally changes your job description. You are no longer responsible for bringing in revenue for your company. Instead, you now work for your customer. Your primary job description now reads: To help my customers select the products and services they need, at the best possible price, while always working to represent their best interest!
When you adopt the role of assistant buyer, you figuratively move around to the customer’s “side of the table” and become integral in the decision-making process. When you truly begin representing the best interest of your customers, the negative customer-salesperson polarization that typically develops when someone is “selling” something disappears, giving trust a chance to develop. And, when that happens, you’ll no longer be selling to your customers; you’ll be making decisions with them.
When you change your job description to that of an assistant buyer, you may be surprised at the sales results that follow. Everybody wins! The customer wins, your company wins, and you’ll win too!
Rather than seeing your job as a salesperson, “selling to people”, start seeing the work you do differently. Stop selling to your customers and start representing them instead! Become their assistant buyer.
Becoming your customer’s assistant buyer fundamentally changes your job description. You are no longer responsible for bringing in revenue for your company. Instead, you now work for your customer. Your primary job description now reads: To help my customers select the products and services they need, at the best possible price, while always working to represent their best interest!
When you adopt the role of assistant buyer, you figuratively move around to the customer’s “side of the table” and become integral in the decision-making process. When you truly begin representing the best interest of your customers, the negative customer-salesperson polarization that typically develops when someone is “selling” something disappears, giving trust a chance to develop. And, when that happens, you’ll no longer be selling to your customers; you’ll be making decisions with them.
When you change your job description to that of an assistant buyer, you may be surprised at the sales results that follow. Everybody wins! The customer wins, your company wins, and you’ll win too!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Presentation Excellence
The Art of Becoming a Presentation Black Belt
Becoming a Black Belt in the martial arts requires hours upon hours of repetitive movement. A simple block, kick, or punch, is performed over and over again until it is entirely instinctive. When attacked, the martial artist is trained to respond without thinking. At this level of experience and achievement, there is simply no hesitation while the mind contemplates a response, everything is on automatic.
While training, students of the martial arts learn “katas” or “forms”, which, by definition are series of specific interconnected moves that resemble a sort of dance or ballet (minus the punching, kicking and blocking stuff of course). The purpose of practicing and executing forms is to tie together many individual techniques in a logical string of movements that is designed to train the student how to defend against multiple attackers coming from many directions.
Forms are used for training or exhibitions. In a true self-defense situation, the martial artist would not revert to a specific form they have learned to protect themselves. However, learning forms is of tremendous value to the development of martial arts expertise. What may happen in an actual self defense situation, is that the martial artist would draw from the mixture of techniques and forms he or she has learned and automatically link portions of each together into the perfect response to the threat— and it all happens unconsciously!
Much can be learned about presentation excellence from this martial arts analogy. What if you practiced not only what you needed to say, but how you delivered your sales presentation with the same degree of discipline as an accomplished martial artist? What would happen if your responses to customer comments and concerns during the presentation were handled automatically (because you were so well prepared), and yet perfectly crafted (so as not to come across as mechanical) to respond to each customer’s individual situation? What if you mastered the presentation, essentially becoming a Black Belt of sorts in your chosen profession— can you imagine how much more effective you would be?
Fortunately, when presenting the benefits of the products and services to customers, you will have no need to physically defend yourself. However, you are responsible for protecting “the message” so to speak, making sure that you’re delivering the information about your company’s products and services with the skill of a presentation expert.
The achievement of presentation excellence does not occur without effort, it requires personal discipline. In order to be fully prepared to handle whatever concerns a customer may throw our way, and to move fluidly through the presentation connecting one important point to another— to achieve presentation excellence— takes a “Martial Artist like” commitment.
Now Grasshopper, you know all you need to know to become a “Presentation Black Belt”. Practice your presentation daily, practice until it is reflexive, then; practice it some more!
Becoming a Black Belt in the martial arts requires hours upon hours of repetitive movement. A simple block, kick, or punch, is performed over and over again until it is entirely instinctive. When attacked, the martial artist is trained to respond without thinking. At this level of experience and achievement, there is simply no hesitation while the mind contemplates a response, everything is on automatic.
While training, students of the martial arts learn “katas” or “forms”, which, by definition are series of specific interconnected moves that resemble a sort of dance or ballet (minus the punching, kicking and blocking stuff of course). The purpose of practicing and executing forms is to tie together many individual techniques in a logical string of movements that is designed to train the student how to defend against multiple attackers coming from many directions.
Forms are used for training or exhibitions. In a true self-defense situation, the martial artist would not revert to a specific form they have learned to protect themselves. However, learning forms is of tremendous value to the development of martial arts expertise. What may happen in an actual self defense situation, is that the martial artist would draw from the mixture of techniques and forms he or she has learned and automatically link portions of each together into the perfect response to the threat— and it all happens unconsciously!
Much can be learned about presentation excellence from this martial arts analogy. What if you practiced not only what you needed to say, but how you delivered your sales presentation with the same degree of discipline as an accomplished martial artist? What would happen if your responses to customer comments and concerns during the presentation were handled automatically (because you were so well prepared), and yet perfectly crafted (so as not to come across as mechanical) to respond to each customer’s individual situation? What if you mastered the presentation, essentially becoming a Black Belt of sorts in your chosen profession— can you imagine how much more effective you would be?
Fortunately, when presenting the benefits of the products and services to customers, you will have no need to physically defend yourself. However, you are responsible for protecting “the message” so to speak, making sure that you’re delivering the information about your company’s products and services with the skill of a presentation expert.
The achievement of presentation excellence does not occur without effort, it requires personal discipline. In order to be fully prepared to handle whatever concerns a customer may throw our way, and to move fluidly through the presentation connecting one important point to another— to achieve presentation excellence— takes a “Martial Artist like” commitment.
Now Grasshopper, you know all you need to know to become a “Presentation Black Belt”. Practice your presentation daily, practice until it is reflexive, then; practice it some more!
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