THE ROBIN ROBINS REVEAL
How To Know If The Salesperson You ' re Interviewing Is Truly MOTIVATED
Jim Rohn used the Bible story about the talents to make the point that we should not waste the talents we ’ ve been given , no matter how meager . They should be invested in , developed , and appreciated , not buried , disrespected , and disregarded . Similarly , an old sales manager of mine used to say the hottest seat in Hell was reserved for people who squandered opportunities — a less elegant way of saying the same thing .
For example , one in four people never bothered to pick up a useful book last year , and of those who did , they only spent an average of seven minutes a day reading . Most of what was consumed was fiction . However , 50 % of the population spent more than two hours a week watching online videos ( not including other forms of digital media ) and three hours and 15 minutes a day on their phone texting , watching videos , scrolling social media , etc ., despite the fact that many books can be read online for free .
Folks , this is squandering opportunities . Every day , they had the opportunity to learn , get better , and apply themselves , but they ’ re “ too busy ” frittering their time away on nonsense .
When I interview salespeople , I like to ask them what their favorite book on selling is . Over 90 % can ’ t answer because they haven ’ t read a single book on selling — not one — yet they profess to make a living selling . Imagine a CPA , doctor , or lawyer providing that same answer to the question : “ What ’ s your favorite book on being a great doctor ?” Would you want someone operating on you who said they had never read a book on the operation they were performing on you but just “ picked it up ” by working in the ER every day ? Or a CPA without any formal training and no desire to read ? Worse yet , someone with ZERO ambition to learn ?
When hiring salespeople , this is a motivation you want to look for . A real hunger to learn , to invest in skill development , and to improve their abilities to sell , negotiate , and close . Show me someone who is consistently reading , learning , and developing themselves , and I ’ ll show you a high-performing salesperson . Show me someone who ’ s never read a book on the topic , and I ’ ll show you a very average under-performer .
From my experience in selling educational materials , many MSPs don ’ t like my marketing campaigns and instruction because they require “ too much time ” in watching , reading , and learning . Not that the value isn ’ t there , but that extracting the value is too much work . Don ’ t I have something easier ? Simpler ? Less time consuming ? Less expensive ? Can ’ t I just give them an email to shoot out to a spam list that will get some good clients calling
12 | MSPSuccessMagazine . com • VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3