Remember when dating sites first came out? I don’t know if they still do this, but they used to promote this thing they “did”.
Finding your perfect mate…mathematically!
Here’s how it works. You enter answers to a survey. Do you smoke? What is your age? What was your GPA during college? What is your profession? Are you an outdoors person? Do you like to drink pickle juice in the middle of the night, watching TV in your swimsuit?
You know, the usual.
And then, they would run all of this data using an algorithm against all other data – and POW! Your perfect match! We did the math and here he is!
It was always a little hard for me to buy
I found myself deeply suspicious that anyone’s algorithm could take all of this “perfectly” correlated data and find me the right guy.
Unfortunately, this is how most “Sales Training” works
We are trained that if we can capture a bulk of the circumstances; the level of the decision-maker, the industry, the economy, the average length of a sales cycle, the ferocity of the competition, and the number of pixels on our marketing pieces (as a sample set) – and we can put this all into a formula and POW! – we will have the right approach to CLOSE THE DEAL!
To that I say ‘hooey’
Each sales transaction, every one, is a complex and delicate social and psychological transaction. Whether you’re selling your three-year-old on eating his peas, or selling an airplane contract to Boeing. Procurement departments are put in place to keep this complexity out – but that just adds one more element to the mix.
How to use sales training
Here’s what I’ve found to be VERY useful. When I hear something that makes sense, I give it a try. See if it works FOR ME. If it does, I keep it. If it doesn’t, I tweak it or toss it. I don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what is wrong with me that it does not work.
When I hear something that makes me sick to my stomach, I ask WHY I am being trained that way. There “might” be a good reason. If there isn’t, I scrap it!
When I have worked for a company who insists on a certain way, I found my self-expression in it – or moved on.
There is NO exact formula or mathematical algorithm to sales. It is a constant dance and an unending opportunity for refinement and education. It challenges and fascinates me. And I love it. I have found my voice in it.
I wish the same for you and am willing to help in any way I can (and willing to learn EVEN more than I now know!)
So, let’s keep this community going! It is a beautiful art we pursue!
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Love ’em UP!
The Irreverent Sales Girl