SELF-RELIANT: Carries own weight to make things happen

SELF-RELIANT: Carries own weight to make things happen

With his goatee, horn rimmed glasses, tweed jacket, and a voice bordering on a whisper, you could easily mistake Benjamin for a professor. And take him to be a lot younger than he was. The sales team could hardly believe Ben was really retiring. Ben was a big mystery. Quiet and soft-spoken, he had been on top of the sales charts for 30 years

In the C Level meeting to discuss Ben’s farewell, the CEO remarked, “I can’t imagine Ben leaving us. I always thought he was ageing in the reverse. Our HR shot a video asking his colleagues what they remembered best about him” The CEO paused to smile. “Amazingly, am told all of them remembered him for the times he never came to them. Am looking forward to seeing that clip later this evening with Ben”

“Am not surprised” the Finance Director said “Not once can I recall Ben coming to me for any of those exceptional over the board price approvals”

The Head of Tech Support added “Whenever my team or I joined him on sales calls, the Customer could hardly identify who was from Tech Support. He would always research and prepare pitch in advance and run it past us to check if the tech details are rightly captured. He is living proof that you don’t need to be technically qualified to excel at selling technology”

Ben’s boss., the Head of Sales chimed in “I used to call Ben now and then to check if anything was needed. Except for the odd expense approval, it was almost always nothing. Whenever I went with him on joint calls, I admired the way he stood like a pillar of strength supporting our project sales teams.”

Heads turned to Head HR, who said “He loved going on calls with new hires. And whenever they ran into trouble, Ben would rise to the occasion, nodding to them as if saying “Leave it to me”. And later, he would say to them “Learn to carry your weight, guys. Your shoulders will only become stronger. You have an entire billion dollar organization behind you, but, that doesn’t mean they will do your work. You do your bit and let your numbers speak more than you do”

The CEO summed up – “Ben was the most self reliant sales professional I have met. We will miss him big time. I can’t wait to spend the evening with him!”

Sales icons are models of self reliance. They recognize, sales acumen is a muscle that grows with use. So, when challenged, the resilient salespersons flex their own muscles first. Entrepreneurial in their outlook, they manage their client portfolio like it’s their own business. “If it’s to be, it’s up to me” is their credo