As a sales consultant many years ago, I quickly learned that I hated my sales manager constantly looking over my shoulder, inspecting my prospect list and reviewing my diary for scheduled appointments. I hated being micro-managed.
I quickly learned that the rare sales consultants who consistently met their targets, where pretty left to do what they wanted.
They enjoyed, what appeared to me to be extraordinary freedom and autonomy.
It was only later I discovered -- They weren't playing by 'no rules', but by different rules, ones I could then neither see nor understand.
Self-motivated, clear and precise, supportive to each other, sensitive to opportunity, authentically close to their clients, intuitive, focussed, deliberate, softer and yet stronger, interested, less impulsive but more experimental, quick to move on from mistakes or errors, intelligent and playful, sure of themselves and open to advice.
A few of the qualities I noticed.
We all want to play by the rules of the next level, because from where we sit, they look like no rules at all.
Hey P, wonderful post, what every independant professional should strive to be!
ReplyDeleteSo true!
As a Freelance successful Sales consultant, I relate to that completly!
Thanks Brenda, pleased you enjoyed the post. And although those qualities sound easy enough to develop, they are not separate to ones total psychological development, and indeed to the social systems which embed them.
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