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Practicing what you preach is not merely a mark of good morals, but a mark of good salesmanship, too. One salesman ignored this principle when he tried to impress Kelly, a training manager. The salesman failed miserably. Here's Kelly's story:
I'm the manager of training for a Canadian retailer and am often contacted to see if I would like to purchase training programs.
For months, I was hounded by a salesman representing an American company that sold sales training. Eight months of being hounded by the rep finally resulted in my agreement to an appointment.
During the meeting, the salesman proceeded to tell me that his programs were different, because they really focused on developing questioning skills for salespeople. He stressed this over and over.
Unfortunately, during his 15 to 20-minute pitch, he neglected to ask me a single question about my business. When I asked him about retail training, he told me they didn't do that type of training.
Needless to say, the meeting ended -- fast! How could I possibly trust someone selling sales training when he didn't practice what he preached?
Postmortem
Kelly was approached by a salesman infected by not one, but two selling sicknesses. She noted that the salesman didn't practice what he preached. This is the disease of inconsistency, which occurs when you send conflicting messages about yourself and what you represent.
Moreover, the sales rep did an information dump as a presentation. This is the disease of backward selling. Salespeople who present before they determine what problems they are potentially there to solve can waste their prospects' time, showing disrespect for those prospects. Be sure to ask what troubles your prospect before you delve into your presentation. Your attitude to potential clients should always be receptive and caring. Remember, these are the people who essentially feed you and your family. So stay away from crippling sales diseases.