Dedicate Yourself to Educate Yourself by Tom Hopkins

To become and remain a professional in this business of  selling, you must recognize that you are in charge of your own training and act  on that fact. Build on your strengths and correct your weaknesses. If you  aren't sure of what to work on first, there is certainly someone in your life  who will gladly assist you—your manager, your spouse, your children, a trusted  friend. Here are six skill areas that I strongly recommend you consider  developing or strengthening:

Negotiation
 Do you consider yourself a trained negotiator? Trained  negotiators can quickly and effectively analyze the details of situations and  determine the best route to resolution. If that brief description doesn't fit  you, make an effort to find a book, tape or seminar on the subject and then  schedule the time to learn from it.

A Second Language
 Consider the part of the country in which you live and  those people you do business with. As our country continually redefines itself  by its people, be aware of the advantages of being able to communicate with  others in their native tongues. Today's projections show that both Hispanic and  Asian portions of the population are on the increase. To be able to offer your  fine services to more people, you must learn more about them, their language  and their cultures.

Voice
 Since your clients choose to 'own' your products or  services based on what you say and how you represent it, doesn't it make sense  that you train your voice to give the highest level of professional  presentation? If you've never considered voice training before, tape yourself  giving a portion of your presentation, then listen to it. Most of us hate the  sound of our voices on tape. Just imagine how our clients must feel when  listening to us. To project your message with clarity and power, consider at  least one session with a voice coach. They can be found in your local yellow  pages.

Public Speaking
 Many sales professionals find that giving short speeches  in their communities helps build their name recognition and their business.  Public speaking is also a great way to build your confidence. Try your skills  out by speaking to your child's class about what you do or a hobby you have.  Teachers love it when the students can learn firsthand about careers. Join  Toastmasters International. There are local chapters in just about every city.  They provide excellent opportunities to hone your skills and meet other  business professionals with whom you might do business or share referrals.

Memory
 Having a good memory is critical to anyone in today's  world, but especially so to those of us who meet many new people every week. I  have learned to make a game of it in my career. I challenge myself to remember  as many people and their stories as I can. There are some great courses and  books written on this subject. Even if you learn and use only one small  strategy, I guarantee you'll see the benefit of having done so.

Math
 Don't cringe on me here. I know a large percentage of people  hate math. However, in business, you need to know some basic math skills really  well. How does it look when you take a client to lunch and you have to think  real hard to calculate the tip? Do you think that will raise any doubts about  your competency in the client's mind? Of course it will. Also, when clients  toss out figures in their projections, you have to be quick on the uptake in  understanding what that means in your business—quantities of supplies they'll  need, projecting delivery dates and times, etc. Practice your math skills.  Every time you hear or see a number in a conversation or even in a bit of  advertising, take a moment to work with the number and see what it means.  Compute unit costs for grocery items—$1.29 for 12 ounces. How much is that per  ounce? I know the favorite computation of every salesperson who works on a fee  basis is to determine their percentage of every sale. Don't stop there. Play  the numbers game often and you'll get better at winning.

Choose just one of these six areas and dedicate yourself  to improving in it this month. Then, next month, choose another. Once you get  started on this journey of self-education, you'll be amazed at what you learn  and how simple things can have a powerful impact on your overall success in life.