Are you stagnant, or a student?

If you want to be successful, even in the face of tough times, honing your consultative selling skills will get you there faster, more efficiently, and with longer lasting results. Consultants help their clients grow by acting as partners rather than vendors. Consultants are positioned as the experts that clients want to deal with. The simple facts are that people like to deal with successful people. Do your clients see you as successful?

But the markets are changing perhaps faster than ever before. The techniques that led you to success even three years ago may no longer be effective. Remember when you used to pull up to the remote phone booth at the convenient store from your car to make calls in the middle of the afternoon? Or when a cell phone was referred to as a ‘mobile phone?’ Or possibly, can you remember when your computer took up over half the space on your desk?

So the question is, would you want to deal with a consultant that did not have access to instant communication or the latest information? Now apply the same example to your life as a consultative salesperson. How might you stack up to this benchmark?

Are you stagnant?
The dictionary defines stagnant as, “Not advancing or developing.” Do you feel yourself hitting this rut? I can remember my first week in a new sales position. I was naïve and idealistic, but wanted to learn as much as I could, as fast as I could. I remember the excitement about the challenge. All of the training seemed to drag as I wanted immediate results.

Three months later, I cringed at the thought of my initial sales calls, how many rookie mistakes I made, and what the clients must have thought of me. After a year, I had the same recurring thoughts about my own preparation and knowledge of the business. After three months I was much better than on my first sales call, and after a year, I was much better than after three months. Somewhere between Year 3 and forever it seemed to all blend together. Maybe success breeds complacency.

Right about that time my company picked up a new product line, with new incentives, and new opportunities, and some new niche markets, and I was excited again. At the same time, though, I was a little ashamed of myself. I realized how stagnant I had become. But this produced an epiphany in my career.

Although I had been the top performer in my group, won some national awards, and had the respect of my peers and clients, I had become complacent and stagnant. Interestingly, I may have been the first or only one to recognize this fact. Or maybe I was fooling myself.

If you consider yourself a true professional, answer these questions: In times of being in a rut, is it the company’s responsibility to charge you into renewed vigor for your craft? Or does a true professional/consultant have the inner drive to stay on the cutting edge? Whose responsibility is it?

The best of the best understand the answer to the questions.

Are you a student?
The dictionary defines student with the following, “One who studies: an attentive and systematic observer.” Maybe this is more than a definition of a student; perhaps it is a better definition of a consultant. What do you think?

True consultative salespeople are invigorated by the challenge of the process of growth and learning. This applies not only to continuing to learn about the needs of your clients, but self-motivation as well.

Are you continuing to ask questions regarding the needs of your clients, vets, or partners? In these economic times, the goals and desires of many of the clinics you call on are being challenged to say the least. Are you aware of specific new or unique challenges that they are facing this year? If you have gained their trust, and you ask, and listen, you might be the solution. That is what consultants do. Learn new ideas, read articles and share, visit industry press releases and blogs weekly and get and stay on the cutting edge.

But if your relationship with your clients still revolves around your company literature and a stagnant box of donuts, you know the two choices available. Work with enthusiasm to be better, or stay the same in an evolving world.

In your hands
If you want to position yourself as a professional consultant who happens to be in sales, or if you want to stay on the cutting edge of success, the challenge is up to you. The independence that comes with your position is also the same independence that drives the good to get better. Do not be afraid of a little self-evaluation, no one is in a better position to assess your growth and development than you.
One day a week, evaluate and give yourself a score from one to three, with three being the high end, on each call.

1.  Was I prepared? 1 2 3
2.  Was there a defined purpose for my call? 1 2 3
3.  Did I learn/listen anything new? 1 2 3
4.  Was I a Partner in this call? 1 2 3

Be honest and enthusiastic. If you did well, then reward yourself. If you can find ways to improve, then take action. You might even find the fun and enthusiasm in each moment that you had years ago.

Mike Muetzel is a nationally recognized author and management resource. For more from Mike Muetzel, visit www.unlockthemysteries.com