Teaching an Old Sales Person New Tricks

This is my 15^th Horse Fair! What could possibly be different?

As I loaded up the minivan with promo material, samples and booth accessories, I was dreading the next 4 days.  Every year, for the last 15 years, I made the journey to set up and work the booth at the national horse show.  With 50,000 customers in one place for the 3-day show, it was a great opportunity to display our products, build our brand and promote our dealers.  So, why was I dreading it?  Normally, I looked upon this event with great anticipation as we had a lot of involvement as a primary sponsor.  We had the booth, sponsored speakers, some of our sales team were speaking and we had sponsored activities going on in the different arenas.  However, after 15 of these shows, I knew how exhausting these 4 days would be.  With sample buckets and brochure racks clanging around in the back of my van, I had one of those major life revelations, I was now in a rut. I had “Been there, Done That”.  Up to that point, I always felt young in my sales territory.  I always felt like I was in the new or young group of sales people.

You do not get in a rut all of a sudden.  It happens over time, but you can come to the realization like I did, all at once.  Some people enjoy the rut.  It is comfortable and they know what to expect.  However, it can kill your results and your career.

Some signs you might be in a rut:

– You do the same thing every day, week, month or every year:  I know salespeople that have standing appointments every week.  “It’s Tuesday.  I call on Johnson Farms and Elm Farms on Tuesdays”.  Whether it is necessary or not, you stick to your route and make those two calls.  With your whole week scheduled like this, you find little time to go see anyone new or incorporate a new activity in your schedule.

– You do not try anything new:  Somehow, you find a way to avoid new “things”.  Whether it is a new sales technique, a new program or new idea, you find a way or excuse as to why you do not need to try it.  And if you do try it, you find a way for it to fail.

– You feel so unique that no one can tell you how to do it better:  You have been there 10, 15 or 20 years.  You have the deepest understanding of what works and what does not.

– You find yourself saying “We tried that and it did not work.”  The evil twin to that is, “We have always done it this way” or “We tried that once but found this way works.  Why change?”

Some ways to climb out of the rut:

1. Quit spinning your wheels and call for a tow

Sure, you can get out of a rut if you spin your tires long enough or can figure out how to rock your car back and forth with anti-lock brakes.  However, it is faster, more efficient and more fun to call for a tow.  There are a lot of resources available.

– Google reinventing yourself and read away.

– Phone a friend – look around at your fellow sales people.  Who has gone through this and survived?  Seek out their advice.

– Talk with your supervisor/sales manager.  If she has no experience with it, ask her who in the leadership roles does have experience with it.  Then ask her to set up a meeting with you and that person.

– Take an assessment.  Maybe your job was great for you 10 years ago or you stayed in the job because you needed the money.  However, today you are in a different situation.  Assessments are a great way to understand yourself.  Especially if you have low self-awareness.  They are cheap, easy to do and give instant feedback.  There are a lot of them out there.  Email me if you want more on how to use assessments.

– Get a Coach:  The best in any industry understand the value of a coach to provide an external or extra set of eyes on their performance.  They aren’t just for the top layers of management anymore.  They are affordable and can help you get on the right path towards the new you.  If you are looking for a coach, again, email me.  I think I know a good one.  For more on coaching an ag sales team, see my earlier blog  Coach Your Feed Sales Team to Greatness

2. Do two Ride alongs:
   1. Ride with another sales person: This is one of the best ways to learn.  Quit trying to reinvent the wheel in your territory.  Maybe someone else has a better way.  For the price of one day’s time, you can learn a lot.  Sure, you can talk on the phone and learn as well.  But, you learn so much more by actually seeing it in action at full speed. While there, observe and ask all the questions you can – event the dumb ones.  Make this your time to learn.
   2. Invite another sales person to ride with you: Return the favor and invite sales people to ride with you.  Show them how it is in your geography and how you manage your territory.  Then ask for 100% candid and honest feedback.  Then, listen and take notes.  Do not try to justify your technique while the person is giving you feedback.

3. Do sustainable change – Today!

There are a lot of quotes I could throw in here to make the point “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step” or “Eat the elephant one bite at a time”.  All are applicable for making sure you start and do what is sustainable.  However, I am sure in the past, you have decided to make a change and then after a few days, lost interest or did not have the time to keep up the change.  Think about all the new year’s resolutions to exercise daily or eat better.  By Valentine’s Day (only 6 weeks later), you can’t recall what your resolutions even were.  Combat this by starting small and just start – Today!  Do one or two of the recommendations in here daily for the next week.  See how it feels and if it is working.  If so, you will be more able to sustain the change.

Join me next time as we make the journey out of the rut and into new and uncharted waters.  Until then, take your first step today and do one of the above mentioned action items.

For further reading on this topic, see the recent blog  Burned Out Calling on the Same Farmers, Same Ag Retailers Week After Week?

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