The importance of self-development.

Business is more competitive and challenging than ever which means we need to continually improve our skills if we want to maintain a competitive edge. Upgrading your skills is critical to your long-term success.

The most common mistake that I see is that many sales people think that they don’t need to update or upgrade their skills because they attended a program or training workshop sometime in the past.

Many companies who say they’re not interested in a training program because they “did one” a few years ago.
People rely on their employer to either foot the bill or initiate something. If you’re not willing to invest in your future you won’t reach your full potential. I’ve noticed that self-employed or independent sales professionals are more likely to invest in their personal development more so than employees of a company.

I recommend doing a quick self-evaluation to determine what specific areas they need to improve. Then, decide what you’re going to do to improve. This could mean attending a training workshop, a tele-seminar, or perhaps a conference to hear different speakers. If you get just one good idea that helps you improve your results, then it’s worth the investment.

“Why is this so important for sales people to maintain a positive attitude?”

Sales is a great career but it’s also a challenging one. The attitude we display is contagious and our prospects pick up on it. But, even more important, is the fact that a positive attitude helps us get through the difficult times and occasional slumps we encounter from time-to-time.

“What can we do?”

First, we have to choose to be positive. No one can tell us how to behave and we can always choose to be in a great mood or a negative one. Now I’m certainly not suggesting that this is easy because it’s not. However, when you put negative experiences into perspective and look at the big picture, you can often see why it’s more important to focus on the positive.

Next, associate with other positive-minded, goal-oriented people. Too many people are quick to bring you down so it’s essential that the people around us are also positive and optimistic.
I also recommend starting your day with something positive like reading or listening to motivational material instead of reading the newspaper or watching the news. Other things like exercise, yoga, meditation are also a great way to start your day. It’s like tending a garden. If you don’t remove the weeds they will eventually take over and choke the flowers. Starting your day with something that is inspiring will kick start our day and keep the weeds away.

Improvements don’t happen overnight. Each change, even if it’s small, makes a difference and can improve our results.

It’s like physical fitness. You can’t go from a being a couch potato to competing in an Ironman competition in a week or two. It takes time to build your stamina and strengthen your body so it can handle the stress effectively.


Raz Chorev E: raz@continuityprograms.com.au W: www.continuityprograms.com.au