An Olympic Attitude

We learned a lot during the recent Olympics - about the athletes, the host county, China, and maybe a little too much about how much Michael Phelps eats every day. But mostly we learned lessons of inspiration. Kelley Robertson shares a very important sales lesson learned, not from a winner, but a loser...

"As I watched the Olympics last week, I was appalled by the behavior one athlete portrayed after losing her event," says Robertson. "Her words, tone of voice, and body language were extremely negative and her comments to an interviewer were far less than professional. Her bitterness was profoundly evident and this behavior dispelled any sympathy I had initially felt for her loss."

"I often encounter salespeople who show similar behavior," continues Robertson. "A competitor sneaks in and steals an account. A customer decides to buy an inferior product. Competitors become more predatory in their pricing. A deal falls through after several months of effort and perhaps a great deal of expense. The list could go on."

"Situations like this are a fact of life and business. How you respond makes a difference. If you allow yourself to become bitter, future situations will only compound your resentment and you will gradually find yourself struggling to meet your goals. However, if you evaluate the situation and determine what, if anything, you could have done differently to improve your results, your behavior will be much more positive."

"No one likes to lose a sale, especially a large one," says Robertson. "However, displaying bitterness will negatively affect your future efforts."

As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to sales training and speaking. Learn more at www.robertsontraininggroup.com

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Learn from the Olympics

"Anyone who watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics this past weekend could not help but be amazed by the event," says sales trainer Kelley Robertson, and I would have to agree with him. "From the costumes, to use of technology, the extravagant fireworks, and the sheer number of people involved, it captured the attention of everyone watching. The choreography alone was worthy of a gold medal with more than 2000 people performing in several of the segments."

Here are three lessons from Robertson that sales professionals can learn from Olympics opening ceremonies:

Think big
The opening ceremonies epitomized the concept of thinking big. Most sales people do not dream big because they are afraid of failing. However, working on big goals expands your thinking and creates new opportunities.

Creativity
Too many sales people use the same tired approaches even when they do not get the intended results. Get creative and change your strategy from time-to-time, and if necessary, brainstorm with coworkers or colleagues to generate new ideas to capture more business.

Practice
Rehearsals for the opening event took more than one year. Many sales people fail to realize that mastering a new sales concept also takes practice. When you implement a new technique or strategy, make sure you invest the appropriate amount of time practicing that idea.

As President of The Robertson Training Group, Kelley has helped thousands of professionals improve their business results with his engaging approach to sales training and speaking. Learn more at www.robertsontraininggroup.com

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