| Some Say it IS Rocket Science |
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800 Landings and Counting... Just the other day I was listening to an exciting interview with Sally Ride, the first American female Astronaut to go into space. In this fascinating interview, she revealed much of what it's really like to have to go through rigorous training, work as a team member, although the competition is fierce, and prepare for one of the most exciting careers on (or off) the planet.
As she explained the dedication and time commitment necessary for intense training, it got me thinking... How does a person know if they have had ENOUGH training and then the other question... When do you STOP? Or do you? Many times, salespeople will tell me that they've been "trained". Typically the words after that begin with the phrase, "And I've been through ALL of the training there is." Hearing that comment always fascinates me. I can't imagine that with the dozens, hundreds, thousands, and millions of training programs there are, that anyone has been "through it all." And as we know, the rules change. Let's go back to the NASA training for a moment. Did you know that it takes approximately 8 years for astronaut training? Of that, 1.5 years are extremely intense. During that time frame, astronauts are asked to land their crafts 800+ times in the worst simulated emergency situations. Think about that. Do you imagine that those astronauts have some pretty embarrassing landings on occasion? Imagine having to simulate a perfect sales call in front of a group of ROCKET SCIENTISTS! That's enough to make me turn tail, I can assure you. But then again, I'm confident that as a professional salesperson, you probably know more about sales than most, if not all, rocket scientists, or astronauts for that matter. So let's consider that you are in training to take a trip on the Space Sales Shuttle. There will only be five salespeople chosen for the adventure into the unknown. You are up for the challenge. You are ready to go through your training. How will you go about preparing? Here's what I will do if I make the short list: 1. Throw out all of my books and tapes that are copyrighted prior to 2003. The glad-handling and schmoozing approach doesn't work anymore and either do manipulative tactics. Instead, I would gather up the books and downloads written and recorded since then and bone up on the content. Taking notes, I will then... 2. Practice what I've learned. Working with co-workers, a sales coach, and even practicing on customers during calls, will help me gain a better understanding of how I'm developing my skills. Getting feedback from the co-workers and my coach will help me polish skills so that when I'm ready to roll out my new techniques with my customers, I'm not afraid to try something new. 3. Maintain the highest quality of professionalism, persistence, and self-motivation EVERY day. So if I'm not in the mood, too bad. If I'm crabby or jet-lagged, tough luck. I've got to power-on with confidence and skill. That's how I know I will succeed. 4. Now, I REALLY want to be on that Space Sales Shuttle. I am convinced that I'm the best person for the trip. Therefore, I need to project my enthusiasm for the goal. I'm going to avoid the negative news and concentrate on reading/listening to what the optimists think and convey. By "hanging" out with those people, I will be more excited every day. 5. Lastly, I'm willing to do the work. Yes, I'll commit to the long hours. The less-than ideal work conditions in some cases, and I'll sacrifice my personal time to get through the training because I KNOW that hard work DOES pay off. I promise not to whine, complain, or throw any temper tantrums when I don't get my way. So there you go. Perhaps you want to get on the space flight with me. If so, prepare for your flight by going through your training, with enthusiasm, energy and hard work. See you at The Kennedy Space Center! (c)Renee Walkup, All Rights Reserved, www.salespeak.com, 678 587-9911 |
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