Selling with Passion
With Craig Goldblatt
Held at the School of Management, University of Surrey, Guildford
16th May 2006 - Attendance 33
Craig led a very lively, engaging and inspiring seminar built around the idea that the most effective way to change the world is to first change yourself, and to see this as a continuous life long process.
Craig opened with an analysis of the relative importance given to skills and attitudes in achieving success. It was soon clear that the most productive way forward in selecting people was to select those whose attitude is more aligned with that of the organisation. Skills, after all, can be taught. It is because skills are easier to measure and evaluate that they are given much more weight. Attitude is harder to measure and more difficult to pass on to others.
Top performers in all spheres are those who continuously condition themselves to feel great all of the time. It’s an attitude and it’s infectious! So get in good condition and ensure you continuously condition yourself.
Next was a demonstration that it’s not goals that make people feel good (goals get you on the journey) but the feelings are attained by achieving the goals that gets you there.
The importance of emotion in successful sales and success in other areas was analysed by Craig (people buy on emotion and back it up with logic) who went on to illustrate the link between emotion and physiology (emotion stimulates physiology – the all over feel good sensation felt when one scores a goal or closes a sale). And in order to generate the feel good in ones physiology one has to have a focus or a need that must be sated. Get focused.
The crucial role of language in success is encapsulated in the thought that people don’t remember what you say, so much as how you say it. Say it with emotion and passion and you are much more likely to prevail.
Craig’s energising presentation was rounded off with some other tips such as to hang out and associate with successful people. Their success rubs off, particularly if you enter into a mentoring relationship with a number of them and set yourselves a number of goals per person per time period. And know your value – do not undersell yourself. Tell yourself you are a winner. Say it enough times and you will believe it, and you will be a winner.
By Dan McNamara
17th May 2006