Browse by title articles:

Looking for the Magic Pill

by Mark Tewart    

Every year that I age, I become increasingly aware that success stems from the acronym called, HOPE Having Optimistic Predictions and Emotions. People lift themselves out of poverty, sickness and despair through HOPE. The recent terrorist attacks on the United States will create stronger believers and practitioners of freedom because of, HOPE.

However, it has become increasingly clear to me that HOPE as it related to sales careers must be based upon three things, 1) sales skills 2) people skills 3) life skills.

Sales skills are made up of processes, objection handling, word tracks, closing phrases and other commonly used approaches in sales. For many years all salespeople have been taught specific word tracks, road to the sale processes and how to ask for the business. Several years ago, when I began to speak and train on sales, I spent the majority of my time training on these items.

As time went on, I began to realize that a person could have great word tracks; closes and do the process right every time and still fail at the art of selling. Why?

I realized that salespeople must be able to deliver their sales skills in a manner that would allow someone to buy. As simple as that sounds and as age old as that is, I previously thought that sales skills were the answer. I then realized that sales skills without people skills are usually ineffective.

I have heard many people say that, some people are just born salespeople. I also believed this at one time. Then I realized that most people are born with all the natural gifts to be good salespeople and as time goes on, their world experiences, teachings by others and the mental box that is created for them by those people or things may no longer allow them to be good salespeople.

When I think of the best salespeople I have ever met, I think of my kids. What allows kids to use incredible charm, ask for whatever they want with great passion and effort and not allow no to enter into their mind.

Most people are born good salespeople but lose the people skills necessary to continue to be so. Contrary to common thought, people skills can be learned. Use of proper voice tone, voice inflection, body language, and active listening approaches can dramatically increase a persons ability to connect with someone else. Salespeople, who dont feel comfortable in applying these skills, have to, fake it until they make it. Through practice and repetition, salespeople can become who they desire to be.

Unfortunately, I then discovered that good sales skills and good people skills were still not enough. I noticed many salespeople who had the sales and people skills down pat, but just couldnt sustain their success over a longer period of time. Why? Usually, lack of life skills is the culprit.

I define life skills as a combination of severalthings.

1) How to create and maintain a good attitude

2) How to set short and long term goals that helps to inspire passion within you

3) How to create a game plan to achieve your goals

4) How to walk through your fear and take massive action on a consistent basis

5) How to review your results and change when necessary

6) How to create the guts, will power and persistence to continue on even when you feel defeated.

Obviously, life skills are not easy. Therein lies the motivation for people to seek the, Magic Pill. The masses seem to be on a mission to find the, Yellow Brick Road To Success. Just as in the Wizard of Oz, when people take the, Yellow Brick Road To Success, they find an imposter as the Wizard.

I invite everyone reading this article to seek ways to increase their sales skills, people skills and life skills to best utilize their HOPE and stop looking for the, Magic Pill.


-----------------
Mark Tewart is the President of Tewart Enterprises Inc. For more information, call 888-2-Tewart / 513-932-9526 or go to www.tewart.com or email info@tewart.com.