How to get sales fit

Improving your body isn’t limited to lifting weights or clocking hours of cardio –– it extends to your delivery and ability to close a sale.

“If I had a choice between three candidates with a spread of skills, knowledge and attitude, I would hire the one with the right attitude – and being willing to invest in oneself and grow is a key part of a great attitude,” says BIG Consulting Managing Director, Simon Dethridge.

“Repetition is the mother of skill,” says BIG Consulting Managing Director, Simon Dethridge.

The sales professionals most likely to succeed are those who have a good attitude first and foremost, who are keen to grow their skills, and who are adaptable to change. 60 Seconds is a way to grow those skills, anywhere, any time.

How to get sales fit

It’s likely that by now your new year’s resolution to get super fit has gone out the window – don’t worry you’re not alone. But rather than dwelling on the body that could have been, why not turn your attention to a far simpler and more rewarding type of training –– sales training.

Improving your body isn’t limited to lifting weights or clocking hours of cardio –– it extends to your voice, how you present yourself, and for people in sales, your ability to close a sale. In the same way that you would work with a personal trainer to build strength and muscle mass, so too can you train to beef up your sales skills.

When considering new hires, BIG Consulting Managing Director, Simon Dethridge says the sales professionals most likely to succeed are those who have a good attitude first and foremost, who are keen to grow their skills and knowledge and who are adaptable to change. “If I had a choice between three candidates with a spread of skills, knowledge and attitude, I would hire the one with the right attitude – and being willing to invest in oneself and grow is a key part of a great attitude,” he says. In today’s fast paced and results-driven environment, “the sales professionals getting caught out are those that are unwilling to change,” says Dethridge. “Being agile and able to adapt and evolve is what sets you apart.”

Along with personal traits, a sales professional’s likelihood to succeed of course rests on the way they structure and deliver their sales pitch. In reality, succeeding in sales is much the same as pulling off a great first date. Dethridge explains that a good sales pitch should follow the sequence of engaging your customer and getting their attention, listening to and articulating that you understand their needs, before offering a solution and a call to action that’s simple to say yes to. “The better sales people will understand what brings their customer pleasure, but more importantly where they are feeling pain, and be able to deliver a solution to them with elegance,” he says.

So what constitutes a sales pitch that’s delivered with elegance? “It can’t be be robotic or overly scripted,” says Dethridge. “Your delivery needs to be natural and connect with the individual you’re trying to influence, in a way that comes across as a genuine want to help the customer.” And this is where sales training comes in. Dethridge says, “Repetition is the mother of skill.” If your sales pitch is weak, the only way to reach peak condition is to consistently and repeatedly work at it, rehearsing and tweaking your delivery until it comes naturally, regardless of the scenario.

Eat, sleep, train, repeat

Expecting to have your skillset transformed from one or two professional development days is as ludicrous as hoping you’ll wake up shredded after one gym session. The only way to hone your skills as a sales professional is to identify, and then work consistently on the areas where your pitch is falling short.

60 Seconds is a mobile coaching app that allows you to train anywhere, anytime. Simply log onto the app on your mobile, record and replay yourself delivering your sales pitch, and when you’re ready, send it to your manager or your colleagues for instant feedback. Just like a muscle, with repeated and targeted training your sales skills will grow in time. Find out how 60 Seconds can help you grow.