Think about a skill you have mastered – something that you can do really well with little effort.
Would you consider yourself a natural?
I suspect that your answer is “no.”
I speak several foreign languages and am often told that I must have a knack for languages. When someone compliments my speaking ability, I might just explain that I lived in another country for a long time, and leave out how much work it really took.
Anyone who has ever studied a foreign language knows that it takes countless hours of practice to be able to speak well. I have spent a small fortune on books on foreign languages, knowing that simply reading them would not help my verbal fluency. It takes practice.
How to get better at sales (or anything else)
When you want to get better at sales, there are all sorts of approaches you can take. Training, reading, watching videos, listening to podcasts – they all have their place.
The reality is that all salespeople practice. The best salespeople are the ones who don’t practice in front of their customers.
Take, for example, presenting a value proposition. Even if all of the preparation in terms of knowing the solution and understanding the customer has been done, there is still an extra step many sales professionals simply miss. When it comes time to deliver the message, a lot of them will just “wing it.”
Write it down
Even when you have something that sounds really great in your head, actually putting your thoughts down on paper might still present a challenge. Writing down what you plan to say can help you to see how it could be made even better. Perhaps there is a more logical flow or concise means of expression.
Say it out loud
Even after you write it down and it looks good, don’t stop there. Try to vocalize it. You may find that when you say it out loud, it just doesn’t sound right. Perhaps there are some words that are difficult to pronounce or a phrase that just doesn’t match your style.
Invite feedback
What sounds great to yourself in your car or in front of a mirror might fall flat and not resonate with others. It can be tough to recognize if you sound stiff or rehearsed. Having others weigh in can help you smooth over any rough spots.
Be coachable
Asking others for their opinion can be difficult. You may not feel comfortable asking your boss or your peers for tips. It might be hard filtering out the comments that are truly helpful from the ones that just wouldn’t work for you.
Having a coach can help you improve in ways that will help you consistently perform at higher levels in front of your customers. They can help you see what is working well so that you can build on your success.
Equally important, coaches can help identify areas for improvement. Negative feedback by itself is rarely helpful; we need to understand what can be done differently. A good coach can provide that guidance.
Be consistent
In order to have sustained improvement, don’t just look for help right before the big meeting. By working with someone who can help you to follow a sustainable plan to get better, you will enjoy continued success.
Learn from experience
I studied French for years before I went to France and realized that I could not really speak French. Sure, I could understand the grammar, read and even write, but actually engaging in a conversation was beyond my capabilities. It wasn’t until I went to University in France and took economics classes that I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and began to make meaningful progress.
I wore out a lot of cassette tapes trying to improve my listening comprehension in Japanese. They helped me understand what people were saying to me, but my replies were often incomprehensible. After I started working in a Japanese office, I was able to get better at speaking through the normal course of doing work. Eventually, I was able to provide technical support on the phone and became fluent enough to do simultaneous interpretation.
As I took on other language challenges and learned Chinese and Korean, I found some shortcuts – not easy ways, but ways – to accelerate my path to fluency. It wasn’t enough to find opportunities where I could speak. I forced myself into situations where I had to speak. For example, in Korea, I went to cooking school, where I had to communicate with the teacher and other students. My lunch depended on it.
All along the way throughout my learning journeys, I sought out experts. I asked people who had already become fluent in another language for tips.
I never heard anyone say that they didn’t have to practice.
