Dear Sales Coach:How Can I Learn from Superstars?

Dear Sales Coach: Some of the sales superstars at my company sell five times more than the average salesperson. How do they do it? How can I do it? – Intensely Curious.

Dear Curious: Your question is a common one, but the answer is not obvious. Many people ask superstars, “How do you do it?” The problem is that many sales superstars, like great athletes, are intuitive so they can’t fully explain how they do it.

The key to duplicating the skills of top salespeople is to first make their skills explicit and then break them down into learnable steps. This is why I strongly suggest going on sales calls with top salespeople instead of settling for a mere run-through of “This is how I do it….” I guarantee you that much will be left out – no matter how well-intentioned the top salesperson.

When you go on sales calls, you will see how he or she opens the call, builds rapport, uncovers needs, makes a presentation, does a trial close and gets a commitment. You will see and hear powerful details of master salesmanship that you cannot learn from any book or tape. Afterward, take notes. If you don’t take notes on these details, you’ll forget many of them.

You have to make this coaching session worth the superstar’s time. Offer to be an assistant. Drive the car so he or she can prepare or rest. Take notes for the sales superstar during the presentation. Offer to assist in some other way that is meaningful for the top producer. Remember, the sales superstar’s time could be worth several hundred dollars per hour, so make this a win-win situation.

Dr. Donald Moine is an internationally known Sales Psychologist and sales coach. If you have more questions for Dr. Moine, you can contact him at DrMoine@aol.com.