Real Knowledge is Knowing the Extent of One's Ignorance." -- Confucious
Have you realized the extent of your ignorance in your selling knowledge? If you're insulted by this question or have not realized your level of ignorance, I encourage you to invest some time in reaching that point. You'll know when you reach it. Don't rely on just a little sales knowledge. Quite frankly, it's worse than having no sales knowledge at all. There is a lot of bad sales advice out there.
In a little over one year, I read 43 sales books (2 or 3 times each) and thousands of pages of sales articles, newsletters, etc. I've subsquently read much more. I didn't realize the extent of my ignorance until about one-third of the way through my initial "research." That's after ten years as a management consultant and sales representative.
Once you realize the extent of your ignorance, you develop a never-ending thirst to learn more, to get better at what you do. Regardless of your level of success, you learn that you really don't "know it all" and you can always learn more. As Alan Weiss, top consultant has said, "I didn't realize how dumb I was just two weeks ago."
I just completed a an ebook that may help some of you get started on your journey to learn more about selling. Sales Book Summaries for Trusted Sellers includes 94 pages with 13 extensive sales book reviews and summaries (6-7 pages in length).
Best,
Rob Reed
Terrakon
Trust-building sales and marketing strategies to attract and win more customers.
Rob,
Great post! I put my comment here: http://therainmakermaker.com/2006/08/29/confucious-says-.aspx
Posted by: Rick | August 29, 2006 at 05:27 AM