I recently attended an award ceremony for my daughter and her seventh grade class. This annual event provides accolades for those that achieve academic excellence in an array of topics. According to the principle, of the 226 students, almost 50 percent received recognition.

However, of the 100 students receiving awards, more than 70 percent gained accolades for perfect attendance. I was baffled. Since when do we award children or anyone for simply gaining an education? Aren’t they supposed to be present? My mentor and a fantastic educator Alan Weiss often states, “…there is a Dumbing Down” in education. I concur. While perfect attendance is admirable, what standards are we illustrating to children? In addition, what standards do we set for future business leaders?

Organizations today act in a similar manner. Individuals are paid exceedingly hefty salaries to “show up”. There is little accountability or a sustainable push to get individuals to perform. Individuals simply show up!

Peter Drucker said “The purpose of a business is to create a customer.” How can a  business create clients if employees simply show up? The world of selling requires interaction with others, engagement with the client and accountability in the territory. Selling professionals simply cannot show up, they must do.

Sales professionals – to avoid complacency you must:
1.    Prepare for every client call with proper research and understanding of client issues.
2.    Conduct market research to comprehend industry, competitive and client trends.
3.    Produce provocative questions that engage the client, and help you understand need.
4.    Engage in education. Attorneys, physicians, athletes and consultants attend self-improvement seminars.
5.    Read voraciously. The more worldly you become, the better the conversations with clients and the more differentiation you provide.
6.    When bored, re-engage clients. Database management systems are available for your use. No selling professional should say they have too much or too little time to speak with a client  – that is your priority!
7.    Stop the excuses. It is easy to blame the organization, the management, the environment, the economy, but at the end of the day, the face you see staring at you in the mirror is who makes you accountable.

So the question is: Are you like the middle school students seeking accolades for showing up? Are you sitting on your past? Or are you actively in the field of play?

©2009. Drew J. Stevens Ph.D. All rights reserved.

This entry was posted on Friday, May 22nd, 2009 at 10:06 am and is filed under Dr. Drew, Drew Stevens PhD, Sales Training, sales help, sales skills, sales strategy, sales techniques, selling skills, selling techniques, selling tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.