Becoming a strategic and consultative Sales Superstar requires significant changes to your “world view” – how you think about yourself, and how you think about your relationships with key stakeholders. You are faced with new ways of thinking, many of which directly challenge what you have been taught and believe.
When faced with significant innovations in thinking, we tend to initially find ourselves in one of the following three characterizations:
- The “Authoritative Critic”
- The “Authoritative Expert”
- The “Enthusiastic Apprentice”
We can think about these three characters as being on a spectrum that runs from outright rejection to eager acceptance.
As we take a brief look at each of these, allow yourself to wonder where on the spectrum you fall in your journey to becoming a Sales Superstar.
The Authoritative Critic
This individual quickly dismisses new ways of thinking, rejecting them as ridiculous, foolish and unwise.
What is this individual’s motivation? Fear of change, of loss.
The Authoritative Expert
This individual typically responds to the introduction of innovative ideas by rejecting the reality that the ideas are indeed innovative. This individual is typically thinking “What’s the big deal? I’ve always done it this way.”
What is this individual’s motivation? Fear of losing face, of appearing inadequate.
The Enthusiastic Apprentice
This individual is excited by innovative thinking and is eager to learn. He/she may not understand or totally embrace the innovative concepts but is excited about the possibilities that well-informed change may bring about.
What is this individual’s motivation? It is hunger for knowledge and excitement about the potential that may come with new knowledge.
The nature of change is dynamic. As much as we might like to believe that change is linear, the truth is that deep transformative change develops in a spiral pattern.
As you reviewed the above characteristics, you may have seen parts of yourself in each description.
Knowledge is the power: The more aware you can become of your own journey of “spiralling” through the process of change, the more conscious and intentional you can be about choosing growth and aspiring to become a Sales Superstar.
Copyright © 2019 by Jonathan Farrington All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means without permission of the publisher.
