A sales rep friend and I were talking one afternoon about how to improve his selling skills. He’s been in financial services for 13 years, but as of late his business has been slow. He was telling me how bad he felt because he wasn’t getting many appointments. People weren’t returning his phone calls. In addition, the few people he was speaking to weren’t interested in meeting with him.
In the next sentence, however, he sparked up and said – with a great deal of pride, ‘I’m a great closer. Just put me in front of a prospect, and I’ll walk away with an order eight out of ten times.”
“Then why isn’t your business growing by leaps and bounds? Why aren’t you making tons of money? Why aren’t you spending more time with your family and friends instead of spending so much time at the office?” I asked?
A perplexed look crossed his face as he pondered my question, the kind of look that says “If I’m this great, why then ain’t I rich?” He looked out the window and pondered this question. He stared at the ceiling. He gazed at the floor. And in a soft voice said,...