A Mule Carrying a Hundred Books on Its Back Is Still a Mule

by Jack Carroll

"I've read everything ever written by Tommy Hopkins."

"Zig Ziglar is a riot. I go to his seminars every time he's in town."

"Tony Robbins always reminds me to develop and use my own power."

During the last eleven years, I've personally worked with more than 5000 salespeople in small training groups of 5 to 100 people, and there is usually one or two in every group—the person who has taken every sales training course offered by every known sales trainer on the planet. Oftentimes, that individual is the first one to wash out of the program or the job for poor performance.

Bad training programs? Not on your life. The people mentioned above are among the best in the business because of their personas, their material, and their passion and commitment to selling.

My diagnosis is another bad case of "taking" sales training versus "doing" sales training—a rather common disorder among salespeople and sales managers based on my own experience. "Taking" sales training is going to a class and listening to what is said and, possibly, participating in the process of learning. "Doing" sales training involves a practice and implementation program lasting a minimum of six months following the training, during which time you work on implementing one new thing every week to improve your skills.

The old aphorism of data, information, knowledge, wisdom applies. The most anybody ever gets out of sales training events is data and information. Knowledge and wisdom only come through a "dig-in" process loaded with practice, repetition, and growth.

So, how many times have you taken sales training? And how many times have you done sales training? As a tool to help you practice and implement or just refresh, we are starting a new feature on this site next week. It will be called the "Sales Tip of the Week" and will give you an important tip on improving your sales skills as well as a method for working on it that week in a minimum amount of your time.

And remember the great wisdom from ancient times that says, "A mule carrying a hundred books on its back is still a mule."

Have a wonderful week selling. And have some fun along the way.

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