I don�t care how much you know until I know how much you care

Bafana Bafana lost by 4 goals to 1 against Iceland recently. And before that to Zambia on a penalty shootout and before that to Ghana and before that to �.. Get the picture? It seems that our National soccer team is always a bridesmaid, never a bride. It�s a team that�s becoming used to losing. I�ve had a peripheral interest in the shenanigans of the team.

Officials are moaning that the team is not getting enough support from its fans. Stadiums are empty when the team plays. Look at the last debacle � no, not the Iceland debacle � the one before that. It looks like the fans don�t care for the team anymore (maybe the tickets are too expensive or it�s easier to watch on TV, I don�t know).  

Here�s a newsflash, the fans don�t care for you because you don't care for them. You�re paying lip service to the true meaning of playing for your country. Coach Baxter had to field a 2^nd team to play in the latest tournament in the USA because the 1^st string couldn�t make it, couldn't get released, weren�t interested, whatever � (even so we reached the quarterfinals � and that�s sadly becoming a standard that is acceptable to us). It seems like Coach Baxter is the head of an exclusive kindergarten with sulky, spoilt kids running around. Players don�t pitch up for training; miss their flights and don�t keep to their commitments.
I believe that in the USA �Die Stem� was played because someone brought the wrong CD. Granted, this was a management fault and not a player fault. Surely, we have a CD of our official National Anthem?

The bottom line is that we have a team that is only involved in the game of soccer but not committed to it ... or can I be so bold as to say �not committed� to the millions of fans in this country. Good luck Coach Baxter, you�re going to need it. If things keep on going like they do, I suspect we won�t qualify for the World Cup in Germany. And, honestly, we don�t deserve to.

So what?

So, what�s this got to do with sales?

Quite a bit actually.

It doesn�t matter how well-groomed you are, how refined and sophisticated you appear to be or how you carry yourself, prospects and clients pick it up when you are only involved and not committed to your profession, your company and most of all yourself. Their radars are tuned in and they quickly pick out unenthusiastic, sloppy amateurs; bad attitudes and general disinterest (like with Bafana Bafana). And, when this happens you lose support and ultimately sales.

 �A monkey in silk is a monkey no less� � Rodrigues

So the trick is to be committed to being a professional sales person and not involved as an amateur sales person if you�d really like to crack the customer code.

 Groan ... Jacques is on his high horse again ...

 Once again, from my soapbox, I declare that committed sales professionals:

-          have extensive networks

-          hunt for referrals and leads every day to keep their pipeline full

-          telephone for appointments every day for at least an hour

-          see at least 3 prospects every day

-          try and get some kind of commitment from them every time

-          when not in front of a prospect, they�re on the phone making appointments

-          have extensive knowledge on their product or service

-          eat breakfast every day (helps with weight loss)

-          eat lunch (keeps the blood sugar up)

-          read lots � from Sarie to Tolstoy

-          have an eye for detail (especially when it comes to proposals)

-          listen more than they speak

-          when they speak, they�re eloquent and make sense

-          spend quality time with family (from 17h30 to 07h00 every day will suffice) ;-)

-          love their job

-          love selling

-          love a challenge

-          love their clients

-       are lovemarks www.lovemarks.com

-          have a great self-image

-          are competitive

-          work hard (the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary)

-          eat dinner (watch the carbs)

Commit yourself to becoming a truly professional sales person and the client will commit to you because they don�t care how much you know but how much you care.