Is Sales a Serious Profession?

Good Morning!Vicky and I went to an interesting show on Broadway this past weekend. “What the Constitution Means To Me.” The play itself is a chronicle of one woman’s lifelong love affair with the Constitution. By turns it is an educational, eye-opening and deeply affecting story about the virtues and flaws of the document that shapes our society and political system. If you’re planning a trip to NYC, this would be an evening well spent. Sales Growth Quote of the Day:"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr How much time should you spend on learning and improving?Let’s face it. You’re not doing nearly enough to upgrade your capabilities and position yourself to win more deals.Allow me to give you a little context about how much time you should devote to your sales and professional growth.

• In California, lawyers are required to spend 25 hrs per year on continuing education.
• Accountants? 40 hours per years. (80 every two years.)
• Doctors? 50 hours per year (100 every two years.)
• Real-estate agents? “45 clock hours” to renew their license in CA.
• Public school teachers? 25 hours per year.
• B2B sellers? Zero.

Many sellers carry a chip on their shoulder and say “Sales is just as specialized a profession as (fill-in the blank.)Well, sure. But how much time are you investing on a continuing basis to learn more about how to sell and to prove that you can competently do your job?I thought so.My recommendation is that sellers devote a minimum of 10 minutes a day to learning.Learn one thing that you can put to use the next day with a prospect.Commit to just 10 minutes per day, Monday to Friday, of concentrated, uninterrupted, undistracted learning.That adds up to only 40 hours per year. (That’s if you work 49 weeks. You can take a break on vacation.)That’s just 2% of your work time.Let’s assume that the know-how and skills you mastered with that extra 40 hours of intensive learning enabled you to close 5 more deals each year.How much would that be that worth to you?Let me ask it a different way. How much are your career goals worth to you?Seriously, I don’t care whether you choose to do your learning in the Sales House. Or you learn on your own.You just have to do it.And you have to keep track. You have to be accountable, at least to yourself, for what you are doing.- Andy Paul