It is now an age-old
question: Are salespeople born, or can they be made? It is true that some of
the essential attributes commonly possessed by salespeople are part of their
DNA. Some salespeople have a natural charisma, the ability to develop rapport,
and great communication skills. At one point in the history of the sales
profession, this may have been enough. Now, however, business acumen is as
essential as these natural traits, and in some cases more important.
In the new art of sales,
you had better be as comfortable explaining how your ROI impacts the prospects
P&L as you are developing the rapport that got you face time in the first
place. You had better be at least as comfortable with Excel as you are with
PowerPoint. Heaven help you if you cannot diagnose the business challenges and
issues your prospects face and present meaningful solutions. And, while you are
at it, make sure you have the management skills to oversee the team responsible
for executing and delivering after you make the sale (all while prospecting and
selling the next deal).
An MBA program can
definitely help with business acumen. Read Steve Martin at Heavy Hitter
for advice on deciding whether or not an MBA is right for you. Read Seth Godin
for some alternative thoughts.
The other side of this
discussion has to include those with the business acumen but who lack the
natural attributes. Can they benefit from a college degree in sales? Christina
Salerno has an interesting piece on BNet: Can College
Tech You to Sell?
I believe that the question
itself is flawed? Can you learn to be the outgoing, naturally charismatic,
rapport-developing, communicator that some of your peers are? Probably not; it
won’t be the authentic you and your prospects will see through that. It creates
mistrust. But can you be a disciplined, aggressive, educated sales professional
with off the chart business acumen that you leverage to create value for
prospects and your company? Absolutely!
Ask any sales manager with experience two questions. 1) Whether they have known a salesperson
with more natural ability than anyone else on the team, but who failed because
they weren't disciplined enough. And 2) if they have ever known a salesperson
with little or no natural talent who succeeded simply because they were
disciplined, focused, and relentless. They will have names and
stories for both questions.
Probability dictates that you
are somewhere between these two poles. Regardless, to succeed in sales as in any field, you are
responsible for developing the skills you need. This includes both the
attributes and skills that some are born with and the business acumen.
Just one more thing before you go .... I would like to ask you to do one important thing for me - spread the word about this article.
That is all -
David
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