The entire career system, in some organisations, is based on using hard functional skills to progress. But when executives reach the top of the organisation, many different skills are required. Corporate leaders may find that, although they can do the financial analysis and the strategic planning, they are poor at communicating ideas to employees or colleagues, or have little insight into how to motivate people. The modern Chief Executive requires an array of skills.

Some suggest that we expect too much of leaders. Indeed, “renaissance” men and women are rare. Leadership, in a modern organisation, is highly complex and it is increasingly difficult – sometimes impossible – to find all the necessary traits in a single person. Among the most crucial skills is the ability to capture your audience – you will be competing with lots of other people for their attention.

Leaders of the future will also have to be emotionally efficient. They will promote variation, rather than promoting people in their own likeness. They will encourage experimentation and enable people to learn from failure. They will build and develop people.

Is it too much to expect of one person? I think it probably is. In the future, we will see leadership groups, rather than individual leaders. This change in emphasis from individuals towards groups has been charted by the leadership guru Warren Bennis. His latest work “Organizing Genius” concentrates on famous ground-breaking groups, rather than individual leaders. It focuses, for example, on the achievements of Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Centre, the group behind the 1992 Clinton campaign, and the Manhattan Project which delivered the atomic bomb. “None of us is as smart as all of us” says Professor Bennis.

“The Lone Ranger is dead. Instead of the individual problem-solver, we have a new model for creative achievement. People like Steve Jobs or Walt Disney headed groups and found their own greatness in them.” Professor Bennis provides a blueprint for the new model leader. “He or she is a pragmatic dreamer, a person with an original but attainable vision. Inevitably, the leader has to invent a style that suits the group. The standard models, especially command and control, simply don’t work. The heads of groups have to act decisively, but never arbitrarily.”

They have to make decisions without limiting the perceived autonomy of the other participants. Devising an atmosphere, in which others can put a dent in the universe, is the leader’s creative act.”

However, the role of the new model leader is ridden with contradictions. Robert Sharrock, of YSC, psychologists who cater to senior business personnel, says: “Paradox and uncertainty are increasingly at the heart of leading organisations.

A lot of leaders don’t like ambiguity, so they try to shape the environment to resolve the ambiguity. This might involve collecting more data or narrowing things down. These may not be the best things to do. The most effective leaders are flexible, responsive to new situations. If they are adept at hard skills, they surround themselves with people who are proficient with soft skills. They strike a balance.”

While flexibility is important in this new leadership model, it should not be interpreted as weakness. The two most lauded corporate chiefs of the past decade, Percy Barnevik, of Asea Brown Boveri, and Jack Welch, of General Electric, dismantled bureaucratic structures using both soft and hard skills. They coach and cajole, as well as command and control.

The “leader as coach” is yet another phrase more often seen in business books than in the real world. Acting as a coach to a colleague is not something that comes easily to many executives. It is increasingly common for executives to need mentoring. They need to talk through decisions and to think through the impact of their behavior on others in the organisation.

In the macho era, support was for failures, but now there is a growing realization that leaders are human after all, and that leadership is as much a human art as a rational science.

Today’s leaders don’t follow rigid role models, but prefer to nurture their own leadership style. They do not do people’s jobs for them, or put their faith in developing a personality cult. They regard leadership as drawing people and disparate parts of the organisation together in ways that makes individuals and the organisation more effective.

Travelling in the UK these past few weeks has given me a much clearer indication of just how much social standards have deteriorated and just why I have become “a grumpy old man”

Every time I visit, I think to myself “I must leave these shores – and soon” and then, rather like awakening from a bad dream, I realise that I already have and being here is just a temporary inconvenience. You cannot imagine the relief.

Most of all, I have witnessed the death of “common sense” which has prompted me to re-publish this post from 2008 …..

Here is his obituary:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense,  who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old  he was, since his birth records were lost long ago in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as: Knowing when to come in out of the rain; why the early bird gets the  worm; life isn’t always fair; and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge)

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but  overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an Aspirin to a student but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility, and his son, Reason.

He is survived by his four stepbrothers: I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I’m A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

(With gratitude for the collusion, to a fellow “grumpy old man” living down under – my very good friend and leadership guru, Kevin Dwyer)

Sooner or later whenever any of us buys something we will want to know the price. Then, in our heads we go through an internal process of evaluating whether it’s worth it and if we decide that it is, we make our purchase. Very often what is perceived as a price objection is actually a request for more information, without knowing the price we are unable to decide. Interestingly, if people only made purchases on price alone 93% of organisations would be out of business. Price objections can be dealt with much more effectively by incorporating the following suggestions within your team’s sales approach.

My advice is always to postpone talking about prices until after you have demonstrated the value of your product or service. If people are informed of the price too early, they’ll make an instant judgment that can close their mind towards what you are telling them.

For example, if you were told that a grubby stone was 10,000 Euros, you’d be very closed about what the seller was going to say next. Alternatively, if you were shown an uncut diamond that was thirty carats with a photograph of how it would look cut, its value will be perceived as dramatically higher meaning that when the seller tells you that it’s 10,000 Euros, you’ll have already appreciated the fact that it’s a diamond. If a prospect asks the price too early in the sales process its good practice to say something along the lines of: “Before we can discuss prices we both need to be absolutely sure that we are right for you. So, if it’s all right with you, we’ll come back and discuss the price in detail when we both know what you need.”

As with any objection, it’s important to understand the basis of their objection. For example, if a prospect says, “It’s too expensive” an experienced sales person will drill-down to find out why they are making this statement. Precision questions can achieve this such as:

- How do you know?
- Compared to what?
- Compared with whom?

If a sales person asks “why?” this will only encourage the prospect to reiterate all the reasons why they believe you are expensive, which installs this belief at a deeper level making it harder to overcome.

When customers perceive the value of a proposition outweighs the risks then generally speaking they will go ahead and make the purchase.  Customers will often pay more for added value, which is usually related to one of the “Three Rs”: Reputation/Reliability/Relationship.

Good sales people are able to paint a graphic picture of what is at stake, quantify the value, and help the prospect understand how it will make them feel.  It’s important that your team really believe in the value of what they are offering, so that they are better equipped to convince their prospects. If your team are unsure about the value their product or service can provide, they will project this unconsciously onto their prospects. If your team are completely convinced that their product or service offers superb value for money then their entire communication, from their voice tone, their eye contact and their gestures will convey ‘VALUE’.

It is also a good idea to break down the price into small chunks, such as cost per use or per week. “And you can enjoy all those benefits for just £2.97 a week.” The smaller the number the more attractive it will to the prospect. and it helps put a manageable context around the prospect’s possible outlay.

If you are producing a quotation for a product or service than has multiple elements, itemise the cost for each element. This helps to build the value because prospects can see at-a-glance all the elements involved and the individual prices for each element will be lower than the total sum.

If you have correctly identified the prospects requirements and proposed aligned solutions then chances are, you won’t be suggesting a ‘Rolls Royce’ version when the customer was requiring a ‘Mini’. It’s much more effective to give the prospect something they have asked for and makes it easier for them to compare prices. Once the prospect is satisfied that your prices are pretty much the same, you have created a stronger platform to ‘up-sell’ from.

Focus on the difference between what they say they are willing to pay, and what you are asking for. This reduces the amount in their mind and is another opportunity to highlight the additional benefits they will gain. For example, “You’ll get all these extra benefits for just (difference in price) a week more than you’re paying at the moment.”

If you need to lower the price, then change the deal. This can help you to maintain your credibility and justifies the reason for you lowering your price. If you simply comply with their request to match a competitor’s price, you imply that you were asking too much in the first instance. Take out aspects of your proposition to bring the cost within their budget.

Ultimately, the price of something is what the customer invests now. The cost is what they end up paying in the longer term. A product/service that requires a higher initial investment may be more cost-effective and provide long-term better value for money.

For example, imagine two brands of dishwashing liquid. Brand A costs more to buy initially than Brand B, yet because Brand A is more concentrated, (feature) it washes twice as many plates as Brand B (benefit). So, overall Brand A is actually much better value in the longer term. In fact, if you calculate the investment per ‘plate’ then you have reduced the price to the lowest common denominator.

Objections do not go away, they are real, and the most successful sales professionals anticipate them and deal with them head on!

When I am asked to diagnose why an individual or even an entire team are not performing at optimum levels, I usually ask just four very straightforward questions:

• Are they visiting/talking to enough clients/prospects? In other words are they pro-active and are their activity levels high? I call this CCT as a percentage of TWT (Customer Contact Time as a percentage of Total Working Time)

• Are they talking to the right people within those client/prospect organisations? Are they able to penetrate the formal DMU (Decision Making Unit) and reach the MAN? (The person or people with the Money, Authority and Need)

• Are they saying/doing the right things? This really means – how strong are their selling skills?

• And finally, how is their attitude – that small thing that makes such a big difference.

From these four questions, I usually discover the answer but actually, it can sometimes be a little more complex and I refer to the “Eight Reasons Why Salespeople Fail”

1. Wrong or no selection process – The wrong person for the position.

2. Wrong or no training – Insufficiently developed.

3. Wrong or no planning – Expected to do all of their own planning.

4. Wrong or no supervision – Left without competent supervision.

5. Wrong or no motivation – Not properly motivated to meet objectives.

6. Wrong or no stimulation – Not stimulated by appropriate incentives.

7. Wrong or no evaluation – Not regularly appraised against a set of agreed objectives.

8. Wrong or no executive action – Not adequately supported by a competent manager.

If you are a sales manager, consider your part in this equation. According to these criteria, do you feel your current team is poised for success? Hopefully you can say yes! If not, this list will hopefully draw attention to how you can help your team exercise their potential.

If you really want to discover how healthy your sales organisation is right now, you can complete this FREE Health Check and receive an immediate score.

If you have rapport with your customers, they are more likely to trust you, listen to you and communicate openly with you – but you knew that already, didn’t you?

Rapport enables you to interact more comfortably and work more effectively together. Rapport dramatically increases your chances of winning a sale. Having rapport means that when there are tough issues to discuss, for example price increases, you can more easily find agreement and solutions, and move on.

Classic research by Robert Birdwhistle looked at how face-to-face communication was received and responded to. His figures suggest that your impact depends on three factors – how you look, how you sound, and what you say. His research broke it down: 55 percent body language, 38 percent quality of the voice and 7 percent actual words spoken. Rapport involves being able to see eye-to-eye with other people, connecting on their wavelength. So much (93 percent) of the perception of your sincerity comes not from what you say but how you say it, and how you show an appreciation for the other person’s thoughts and feelings.

When you are in rapport with someone you can disagree with what they say and still relate respectfully with him or her. The important point to remember is to acknowledge other people for the unique individuals that they are. Rapport can be described as ‘when two people are like each other, they like each other!’ Rapport builds trust and without basic trust communication can become stilted.

When communication between two or more individuals reaches its optimum it’s said that a perfect rapport has been established. On the other hand, when communicating with a customer or prospect is hard the situation becomes rapport-less. Some people we meet may inspire an instant connection and immediate trust, while another person can be very polite and charming, yet we don’t feel any connection with them and our communication feels unnatural. When two or more people meet they immediately start an automatic process of comparison with the other. If the outcome of this process is judged that the other person is similar in some way then rapport is established. When people are in a state of rapport they tend to respond easier to our instructions, suggestions and influence.

Is it any wonder that rapport is often seen as the foundation of all good communication?

A Sales Leader’s level of success or failure may be determined on their ability to influence people within their own organization, as well as those operating in other companies. Sales Leaders who use their influencing skills well are exciting to be around and they exude a positive energy that attracts people towards them. Your ability to influence others can empower people development, accelerate results and ultimately ensures an easier working environment.

Influencing is about understanding yourself and the effect or impact you have on others. Though, it can on occasion be one way, the primary relationship is two way, and it is about changing how others perceive you. Truly excellent influencing skills require a healthy combination of interpersonal, communication, presentation and assertiveness techniques. It is about adapting and modifying your personal style when you become aware of the affect you are having on other people, while still being true to yourself.

Behavior and attitude change are what’s important, not changing who you are or how you feel and think. You may try to exert your influence through coercion and manipulation. You might even succeed in getting things done, but that isn’t really influencing. That’s forcing people to do what you want, often against their will. You won’t have succeeded in winning support. Pushing, bullying, bludgeoning or haranguing DO NOT WORK! Like elephants, people will remember the experience. Indeed, if you force someone to do something you want without taking their point of view into consideration, then the impression that person is left with is how they will see you forever. You’re stuck with it, unless you deliberately change what you do in order to be seen differently. People are far more willing to come halfway (or more) if they feel acknowledged, understood and appreciated. They may even end up doing or agreeing to something they wouldn’t previously have done, because they feel good about making the choice.

What Makes An Effective Influencer?

Find alternative ways to influence others and demonstrate high levels of flexibility. This means that if the approach they are taking doesn’t get them their desired results they try a different approach. If this doesn’t work they try another approach. Ultimately, the person with the greatest flexibility will always have control over the situation.

• Listen attentively to what others say because this improves mutual understanding and conveys respect for the opinions of others. Giving good attention to people makes them more intelligent. Poor attention makes them stumble over their words and seem stupid.

• Uncover needs and wants because they appreciate that every individual is unique. They have their needs, their own set of problems and their own motives for doing what they do.

• Empathize continuously and are able to adopt different perceptual positions to connect with the feelings of others in different situations. Not only do effective influencers manage to put themselves in their customers’ shoes, they are also able to wear the shoes of individuals in their sales team.

• Have developed high levels of sensory awareness. This means that their senses are fine-tuned to pick-up on the smallest details include non-verbal signals that are sometimes different to what a person is saying.

• Create and maintain rapport throughout their communication that enables them to deepen relationships, build higher amounts of trust and minimize resistance.

• Eliminate weak statements from their language and are able to create multiple positive associations by avoiding negative words and using negations in a positive way. For example; “I’m not going to say that this strategy will be totally successful.” The unconscious mind has to think about the strategy being totally successful, irrespective if the word ‘not’ is contained within the statement.

• Base the success of their communication on the response it produces in others. If other people don’t respond in the way that the influencer was wanting, they accept responsibility and change their communication until they do achieve their desired outcome.

The “winners in life” know all about influencing!

Sales people involved in prospecting already know the challenges of persuading a prospect to give them the business, but very few recognize that there is actually a four-step process involved in buying, that all of us follow;

Step One: We have to feel MOTIVATED to make a purchase, irrespective of its type or size.

Step Two: At some point after we’ve become motivated to want to buy, we make a DECISION to buy.

Step Three: Then, after we have made a decision, we want to feel CONVINCED that our decision is the right one and at this stage we may seek approval and input from other people. Then we’ll make our purchase.

Step Four: Finally, after making our purchase we seek REASSURRANCE. Interestingly, if sales people haven’t nurtured newly acquired customers, this can result in ‘Buyers Remorse’ and the customer may get ‘cold feet’ and cancel their order.

Every step of this process requires careful handling, yet if the sales person lacks the ability to motivate their prospect to talk to them, let alone buy from them, the other steps become redundant.

It is now common knowledge that people are fundamentally motivated in two main ways:

1. What problem or pain they can avoid and move away from

2. What pleasure or benefit they can move towards

Imagine your alarm going off in the morning and you realise that you have to get out of bed. It’s just too warm and comfortable where you are, so you give yourself another five minutes. Then, after this time, you decide to lie in for another few minutes until you suddenly get a picture in your mind of your angry boss! The consequences of being late for your meeting with him scares you into jumping out of bed.

Alternatively, imagine your alarm going off on the morning of your holiday. The prospect of sun, sea and Sangria fills you with excitement as you jump out of bed to start your two week vacation.

If a prospect feels content with their current supplier or their current situation, then it will be a huge challenge to motivate them to want to buy your product or service. That’s why every pain your prospect feels is an opportunity for you.

Your task, during the initial fact-finding stage is to uncover their ‘pain’ and help them to dwell on their problems. The stronger the pain or the bigger their problem, the greater their motivation will be to move away from it. If you can convince prospects that your organization can reduce one or more of their ‘pains’, then you will have suddenly discovered a powerful way to unleash their motivation to buy from you.

Here are some examples of questions that probe for pain:

● “What areas of your current situation don’t you like?”
● “What is this costing your organisation each year?”
● “How do you feel about (problem)?”
● “Who else is aware of these issues?”
● “How do they feel about it?”
● “Why haven’t you tackled this before?”
● “How do your issues compare to those in similar organisations?”
● “Which of these problems is causing you the most concern?”
● “What have you done in the past that’s not worked?”
● “When did you begin noticing this issue?”
● “Why is this such an issue for you?”
● “When will you decide to resolve this?”

When probing for pain it’s more effective to start with general questions to build rapport, encourage discussion and plenty of input from the prospect.

As you begin using questions that probe for pain you’ll notice shifts in their body language that can provide you with important feedback that your questions are hitting the mark. Ideally, encourage the prospect to define the consequences of their problem, this magnifies the problem in their minds eye and consequently builds their motivation to want to get it solved.

Finally, you need to gain their commitment to resolving their problem by asking, “How committed are you to resolving this issue?”

“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.” Anthony Robbins

Travelling back to Paris this week, I experienced the full range of “customer experiences” – as I inevitably always do – and it is interesting to compare the declining standards of customer service in the UK with the almost non-existent standards in France. Maybe someone should share with these companies what I am about to share with you …

Did you know that one unhappy customer tells 10 to 15 others about their experience. If it’s really bad they’ll tell the whole world.

For every complaint that could be made, around 20 people don’t bother. This means 20 lost opportunities.

If you handle a complaint badly or with a ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude or, worse still, if you hide behind the ‘rule book’, you will lose that customer for good.

You can’t afford to lose even 50p because this will mount up according to something known as the “multiplier effect”.

The Income Multiplier Effect:

Example:

A potential customer goes into a leisure center which was built last year. The center is trying to build up its customer base. It employs 50 staff, part time and full time, who haven’t received much training in customer service and complaint handling.

The customer asks about booking a gym session for later that day. He doesn’t receive a positive reply and the receptionist’s attitude is very much ‘take it or leave it.’ He shrugs and walks away.

How much has the centre lost in potential revenue?

• $10.00 primary spend – the price of a gym session
• $10.00 secondary spend – a drink, sandwich, possibly a swim, etc.
• $500.00 potential membership fees

He will tell at least seven people about his bad experience so $520 x 7 = $3,640 It is easy for a small amount of lost income to multiply to dangerous proportions.

Make It Easy For Your Customers To Complain:

Customers may well want to tell you they’re unhappy about something but they either:

• Feel uncomfortable about doing so
• Don’t know how to
• Don’t have time; it’s easier to let it go

So, give them a choice of mechanisms. For example:

• Simple questionnaires with pre-paid postage
• Telephone help line
• Customer service points
• Exit surveys – face to face questions
• Comment cards

Let them know it’s not a waste of time!

What are you going to do with the information? File it away? Shred it for next year’s Christmas decorations?

One company I know maintains a whiteboard in the reception listing the key comments/complaints made by customers, with a note of the action taken, or to be taken and by whom. Customers really feel they are part of the product and service improvement team.

Customers need to know what’s in it for them if they do complain.

Respond quickly to complaints. If you give a number to ring, make sure someone is always there to answer the phone. Reply within two days if that’s what you promised to do.

Have an “escalation procedure” which allows for the more serious complaints to be dealt with by a senior member of staff. Directors need to be accessible; hiding away simply creates suspicion.

Summary:

Unfortunately, when compared over time, the customers’ interest levels increase while the vendors’ interest levels tend to decrease. This creates a “relationship gap” and is due entirely to complacency.

Fact: It now costs fifteen times as much to locate and sell to a new customer as it does to an existing one. That reason alone, should act as sufficient incentive for us to attempt to build brick walls around the relationship in order to deter predatory competitors – and there are plenty of them out there.

We must continually strive to earn the right to receive our customers business and one significant stride in that direction, is to implement an effective customer care program.

I have needed to negotiate several times this week; nothing unusual about that, but it got me thinking about why so many sales professionals do not have this most basic and essential skill…

So here, in my opinion, are the 40 most common mistakes made by negotiators …..

• Failing to prepare effectively for negotiation

• Underestimating your own power

• Assuming the other party knows your weaknesses and strengths

• Being intimidated by the status of the person with whom you are negotiating

• Concentrating on your problems, rather than those of the other party

• Forgetting the other side has things to gain from agreement, as well as yourself

• Making assumptions about what the other side wants

• Having low aspirations for yourself

• Giving too much credence to time deadlines set by the other side

• Assuming the other side is aware of the short and long-term benefits of reaching agreement

• Being intimidated by rules set by the other side

• Misunderstanding tactics used by the other side

• Talking too much

• Failing to listen effectively

• Believing everything the other side says about you, your service, your competition, etc.

• Being forced into discussing price too early in the negotiation

• Revealing your “hand” too early

• Aiming too low with your opening bid

• Accepting the first offer

• Giving away concessions for nothing

• Conceding an important issue too quickly

• Making concessions too easily and raising the other side’s expectations

• Feeling guilty about asking for a concession

• Making concessions before knowing all the other sides’ demands

• Failing to make concessions conditional on final agreement being reached

• Making concessions of equal size to those on offer

• Paying too much attention to price, rather than value

• Discussing issues for which you are not prepared

• Being inflexible

• Losing sight of the overall agreement when deadlock is reached over minor issues

• Responding to a high demand with a counter offer, instead of challenging the validity of the high demand

• Assuming deadlock means agreement is not possible

• Feeling deadlock is only unpleasant for you and not the other party

• Trying to be liked during the final stages

• Bluffing without having a strategy ready should your bluff be called

• Taking things personally

• Offering to split the difference

• Being intimidated by “This is my final offer”!

• Not preparing for the possibility you may need to walk away

• Carrying out a “post-mortem” with the other side

Did you recognize any of these when you think back to the last time you negotiated?

A successful sales team is one that is set up correctly, responds to the responsibility it has for the task, seeks constant improvement and sees its Sales Leader as a fundamental support to its success.

A sales team in this situation will do well and is more likely to go on doing well than a sales team who are just told what to do.

The Sales Leader’s role is one of catalyst – constantly helping their team to keep up with events, to change in the light of events and to succeed because it is always configured for success.

The organizational structure of a team is important, especially a sales team who have very tangible measures of success in the form of their targets.

Within a sales team it can be useful to identify specific roles:

• Hunters – who will be responsible for the acquisition of new business from new customers?

• Farmers – who will be responsible for the servicing of existing customer business and the identification of new business opportunities from existing accounts?

• Sales support – who will provide the post sales support to ensure that new customers are given high servicing levels particularly in the two months after they’ve placed their first order? This is vital because typically, many new customers are lost during this high-risk period.

Who does what, how one job relates to another, the lines of reporting and communication – all affect effectiveness. This is something to continually re-assess. Sometimes all three types of roles are undertaken by the same sales person, and sometimes organizations have different sales people for each type of role. Sales Leaders should, therefore:

• Make sure that the structure you develop fits the tasks to be done and the sales targets to be achieved

• Implement any changes on a considered basis because sales people are usually incredibly busy, and are more prone to overwhelm when faced with the prospect of change

• Explain changes positively and highlight why they will help sales people achieve their targets more easily

• Keep the sales team under review to ensure you retain a good fit between what the organization requires and what the sales team must do to support this

Any, even slight, incongruities about the way sales people are organized can easily dilute overall effectiveness and foster an environment where sales people do not expect things to remain as they are forever.

The role of sales people usually requires them to be suitably self-sufficient because of the fact that they are often home-based, and spend most of their time working alone in the field.

Building self-sufficiency saves time and promotes goodwill. Having responsibility is motivational – sales people tend to do best those tasks for which they have personal responsibility.