Are You Practicing On Your Best Prospects

Writen by Tim Connor

How much time do you spend practicing and developing your skills? Do you practice a new technique on a prospect or on a fellow salesperson or your supervisor first? Do you not practice at all, but just show up?

Show me any athlete in any sport who achieves success, fame or even makes a decent living, and I will show you someone who spends more time practicing than in the performance of his/her sport. Here are a few examples.

- Most Olympic athletes spend in excess of 3000 hours preparing for a 2, 3 or 10 minute race. -Most good golfers hit hundreds of golf balls every day to refine their swing, balance and performance. -Take baseball, basketball or football – teams practice 3-5 days a week (every week) for several hours for just a 2-3 hour game. I could go on, but I am confident you see my point. Are other careers different? No. Doctors, contractors, teachers, counselors spend time in research, discovery and experimentation. They don't wait until they get into the operating room or in front of the classroom. Yours truly spends a minimum of 2-3 hours for every hour in front of an audience.

Show me someone in any discipline who just shows up, and I will show you someone who is average at best, never makes a difference, and seldom achieves greatness.

How about salespeople? What can they practice before a sales call? A telephone call?

-New questions to ask prospects.
-New ways to ask those questions.
-How to cover the benefits of a product/service feature.
-How to create a sense of urgency.
-How to professionally terminate a presentation on a poor prospect.
-How to increase a sale by 'upselling'.
-How to close the sale.
-How to answer a prospect's objection.
-How to better answer a prospect's questions.

I'll leave you with a question. Are you just showing up for games, or are you spending routine time and effort practicing for your next call?

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management, leadership and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; Soft Sell, That's Life, Peace Of Mind, 91 Challenges Managers Face Today and Your First Year In Sales. He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at www.timconnor.com.