Practice helps us develop routines. Routines help us master skills and create beneficial habits. Being able to repeat those routines turns successful behaviors into habits. Where successful behavior is a habit, is where we find incredibly successful sales people.
Habit implies repetition and, as it regards sales, that is absolutely true. At the most fundamental level, every sales process addresses the same things for the same result, which is to win the sale. The ability to know what to repeat by habit is why great sales people can sell anything. You see this in other professions, as well, such as music.
Have you ever heard the same musician multiple times and even though they’re playing the same song it sounds different? Early in my life, I made a living playing guitar. We played the same songs every performance but we had to make it sound new, every night. The last thing we could do was to look and sound bored, as that is a letdown for the audience. It was also a letdown for us when we didn’t get rehired.
As fortune would have it, I was taking music classes at UCLA and one of our guest speakers was Kenny Loggins. His friend was teaching the class so he agreed to speak. During Q&A I asked how he kept from getting bored with playing the same songs. He said, “Even though we play the same songs doesn’t mean we play them the same way.” He went on to explain that they were heavily influenced by the energy in the audience. If the fans were having fun they might make silly changes to the music. If the fans were low key they might add something mellow. The point was that they never played any song the same way. They always improvised with whatever was best for the moment.
After getting that advice, we started to improvise more on stage. It didn’t sound good. We soon learned that we couldn’t improvise well unless we knew the songs well enough that playing the right chords was a habit. Once the playing became a habit we were much better able to improvise in a way that improved the performance. Often, nobody in the audience knew we were making changes, but the band members knew it which kept it fresh. Most importantly, we learned to improvise with whatever was best for the moment.
As with musicians, when a sales person has great habits, which is what The Five Abilities® represent, they can start to improvise in winning ways that make their actions best for a particular moment.
- VISABILITY – Being seen in the right way by the right people at the right time
- CREDABILITY – Having superior knowledge and success
- VIABILITY – Offering a solution that fits both needs and readiness
- CAPABILITY – Delivering what the customer bought
- RELIABILITY – Being accountable if the unexpected happens
The best sales people have the best habits just like the best musicians. Develop these habits so that you can improvise anytime, anywhere to address the challenges of the moment. Learn to consistently play to your audience (e.g. customers and clients), and winning will become your best habit.
©2014 Rick Wong – The Five Abilities® LLC
