When I first entered the sales force, I was instructed to view my territory as if it was my own company and make decisions as such. This was hard for me as an engineer because I was used to thinking about projects that someone else told me to work on.
I didn’t have a business degree. I didn’t have any understanding of how a business functioned outside of my little box of fixing and redesigning things. This was hard for me to wrap my black and white, ones and zeros mind around. What was this grey area people talked about?
As you can see thinking about my sales territory as if it was my own company was not an easy task for me. It took me really making efforts to learn about business and learn from a mentor before I was able to wrap my mind around the concept. This was not an over-night thing either.
I started reading books, taking trainings, and constantly learning so that I would be able to apply this concept. That is why I am able to run my own company. Without that prior training this would not have been possible.
Far too often people get into business by making a product / service and learn from one hardship after another. Yes, it is okay to learn from mistakes and we typically learn more than when we have successes. We should start out taking a business class when we start to go out on our own. Not a full four year degree, but learning about business terms.
Not only will it help us learn more about business, but it will increase our capacity at our current job helping us to understand decisions better. This makes us more valuable at our current job, and then helps us start out better on our future careers. It’s like deciding to put on shoes prior running over rocky terrain.
So how do we wrap our minds around this? How do we decide our current position in finance, or materials would be our business. By simply filtering our decisions through this statement. “If this was my business would I make this decision.”
Most people function as this is someone else’s pocket the cost is coming out of so they don’t think twice of spending the money. I remember a conference when the speaker stated that we are to reach into our pockets to give something to charity, then follows up it by having us hand our wallets to the person to our left. Now we are asked how much we would be willing to give to charity.
Everyone erupted in laughter because we would empty the other person’s wallet without thinking, but when it was our own wallet…
If we start filter business decisions through this filter as this is my company before we make the decision, we will make better decisions for the organization. We will be more connected psychologically to the decision as well.
Next time you are to make a decision in business, frame it in this mindset and see if your view changes.
Have a great week!
“Businesses wonder why it is still hard to be thought of as the brand of choice with customers. How can our business make more profitable transactions and stay out of the commodity battle with low profits? I equip your sales team to walk with the customer through the five buying decisions, and in the correct order to generate explosive revenues with greater profits!”
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lWIVasmkFsoYL4h0AqIZgH6LC3qaw_gI/view?usp=sharing – client profile sheet
https://www.amazon.com/Sales-Process-Uncovered-Success-Influence/dp/0578421518 - Book
https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/5AF12 - Sales Process Uncovered Online Training
https://kevinsidebottom.kartra.com/page/68N10 - Trustworthy Online Training