[this post is inspired by Dennis Houseknecht, a Nerd in West Virginia]Sales is not a 4-letter word (really, count them). What can we call this that won’t make you groan or look like you just ate a lemon? You tell me.
As Nerds, we love technology, we love solving problems, and we love helping clients solve problems with technology. “sales” is just the most effective way of doing what we love to do, though our goal is simply to enable technology to help their business be more successful. That said, we are always looking to improve how we do business as well.
We have hundreds of Nerds in 9 countries, meeting in-person isn’t always possible, so we are grateful for the internet, as it allows us to connect in various ways. We even have countless online training sessions each year, led by our Product Champions, who take the time to teach those who are interested about programs or tools that will allow us to provide better services to meet our clients’ needs. These sessions demand that we put our newly found skills and knowledge into action with the help of the team. As they say, if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.
The idea of a “sales training session” does not excite most of you. I have been to a few of those. As much as I like having seasoned sales professionals pass down their wisdom, it always feels a bit like having someone “show” me how to play hockey in a one-day session.
I am not a hockey player, but if I wanted to learn to play hockey, I would get together with a bunch of folks who are a little closer to my skill level, along with a few who are more experienced, and hang out on actual ice with them every week. I would start by trying to figure out how to do those little things – the things the good players don’t even know they do, much less how they do them. I would practice those things between sessions, and then come back and share my experience.
I would read books about how the game is played, and then try to put the pieces together over time. I would do this week after week, because I could never learn to play hockey in an hour, or in a month. Over time, I would take the little pieces that I initially have to work really hard at, and repeat them until I did not have to think about them so much. Then, I could focus on the higher level processes, like strategy. I would never become a Gretsky or a Howe, but I am pretty sure I would at least learn to slap a puck.
Why would I approach learning sales (or anything else) differently? It is bound to be awkward, perhaps even clumsy or ugly – much like a bunch of guys who barely know how to skate learning to play hockey. But that’s how we learn in this life, by passionately pursuing our dreams – together, be it personally or professionally, and not letting any obstacle stop us.
