Who’s the… Perfect can be…

Who’s the …salesperson now?

Listing the most essential skills to be successful in our business is challenging. Of course there’s product knowledge and the need to fully understand the application of your products. And who would dismiss the criticality of knowing how to trouble shoot all manner of results and mechanical problems?

But maybe the one that we’re most challenged by is the art of persuading that customer or prospect to accept our ideas. And that’s true if the first (or even) last line of your job description doesn’t mention selling. Because in the end swaying others to accept our ideas is exactly what that essential skill means. That’s a lot truer than most casual observers understand.

Maybe it’s in making that after hours emergency delivery to quell the amped up panic call demanding an immediate delivery. Or perhaps it’ explaining to that hospital why last month’s costs increased due to the leaking wash tank fill valve that their maintenance team hasn’t gotten around to addressing yet.

At its core selling is embedded in all our jobs. And we often use its’ well established steps (earn, learn, match, explain, and close) to do more than get the order. Oh, and dealing with complaints in the same way as sales objections isn’t very different either.

Next up: Defusing objections and complaints.

Perfect can be…the enemy of good

Most of us grew up hearing that it was important to strive for perfection. Our sports coaches pushed that absolutely laudable ideal – as did others in our young lives. Likely we also probably heard it along the way more than a few times in our business careers as well.

Now to be clear there’re areas where perfection isn’t just a good ideal but where it’s essential. That’s the case, for example when it comes to working with electricity. Or when it comes to keeping our word where it’s certainly the right idea.

But setting aside a few deserving areas, striving for absolute perfection all the time, can be less than great advice. As the headline above implies, pursuit of absolute perfection can absolutely be the thing that prevents accomplishing something good.

This isn’t to say we settle for mediocre, but it does say that targeting to hit home runs and being reasonably content with singles and doubles is both good advice and a probably better path to happiness and self-fulfillment.