Bo Hussung

“Give a man a fish; you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; and you feed him for a lifetime”—Author unknown

This is one of the most simple and foundational principles of sales and also life…. yet it is easily one of the most difficult for sales people to accomplish, let alone even comprehend. We live in a “what have you done for me lately” society of instant gratification. Okay, okay, I know….this is way over used and has even become a little cliche. But the fact remains, most sales people do not get it. The funny thing is that if you really look at the underlying principles and how they work, it really is pretty simple, not easy, but simple….and the cool thing is most of us already do it in one way or another….It is a social phenomenon in which every living creature participates……we find people that we have things in common (common ground) and we build our relationships from that…..very simple!

The Problem!.…………

So why is this concept lost in sales? My theory is people are afraid, they fear rejection, they fear failure, they are lazy or worst of all, a combination of these. They are afraid of what might happen if they put themselves out there. If you couple that with the work that one has to commit to make themselves successful and the lack of mentors that truly know what it takes…..then voila! A road map for mediocrity.

The Prescription!……..

The good news is the basic principles are already in place and is it is never to late to learn. Here is where to start….no matter what you are doing, always and I mean always strive to be the absolute best. Don’t just be an expert, be the best expert. Be the authority for all others to follow. Each and everyone of us are truly blessed with individual and unique talents. When a talent is identified and locked in, it is part of the foundation from which all success is built. The problem is a lot people put the wrong value on their talents. They put too much emphasis on the financial rewards and not the unselfish desire to be of service to others (okay, I am getting a little off track ~ sorry).

Pick One thing!……..

Having said that and experiencing it first hand, we can truly only be good at ONE THING AT A TIME. In all of my experience, too many people and sometimes business spend too much of their time trying to be everything to everybody. It is nearly impossible to do and have the simultaneous objective of having any lasting impact. Wouldn’t it be really cool to be the definitive expert in your area and particular market, so when someone thought of something in that particular field, they think of you first? Pick one line of work, whatever it is and then immerse yourself in it. 

Analogy….…..

Think about this for a second…..Remember when Michael Jordan played baseball? Although he was a phenomenal NBA star, perhaps even the greatest and a giant among men, he was not that good at baseball, In fact he couldn’t get [ast AA (Birmingham Barons) and not even half as effective as he was in the NBA (I love analogy)…..Borrowing that example, why do people insist on being everything to everyone?

….Pick one thing!…….Be the best….Period!

After this is accomplished, then begins the hard and tedious process of marketing to that particular area of expertise and building a network of influence within and around this field.
I will pick up on that topic later in a future blog…..Stay tuned!

Stay Sharp and thanks for stopping by,

Your business development and relationship management expert