Be Prepared!!

One of the groups of people I have watched intently throughout my sales career are lawyers. I, like the majority of Americans, do not especially care for lawyers as a professional group. I do, however, recognize that there are many things to be learned by a sales professional from a professional trial attorney. Most movies that center around court room trials also show the preparation by the attorneys outside the court room. A Few Good Men with Tom Cruise is a great example. The defense team spends countless hours of research and "what if" scenarios to hopefully eliminated the dreaded court room surprises. Surprises are also the kiss of death for sales professionals. While you cannot avoid them totally, you can set the odds in your favor by being prepared. It is essential you know as much or more about the company with which you are dealing as your contact does which sounds impossible. It does "sound" impossible but you will find that many people who are in traffic are very unfamiliar with the production side of the business and you, as a side benefit, can actually help them by being prepared.