Don’t Try This At Home [Academy]

Don’t Try This At Home:

Years ago, it wasn’t unusual to hear about people getting hurt or even killed when they tried to replicate stunts at home that they saw someone do on television. Then years later tv shows like Ridiculousness and movies like Jackass, made doing crazy stunts at home look fun, challenging, and romantic.

It created a major acceleration in both dangerous activities and injuries when stunts on both of those shows were done by amateurs at someone’s home.

So to keep from getting sued, companies started adding disclaimers to their programs clearly stating, “Don’t Try This At Home” or in the case of car stunts they would show a statement that said, Professional Driver, or Professional Driver on Controlled Course.

It’s only because so many people have no common sense, who are showing off or under the influence that that kind of advice needs to be given at all.

But believe it or not, seed sellers sometimes need to be given disclaimers too and reminded of things they should not be doing at home.

You’re probably asking yourself, what could seed sales reps possibly do at home that could injure them and their ability to get sales?

Well, it all starts with where the mind is located, not the body.

Did you know that 75% of all seed sales reps are hurt or severely injured mentally before they leave to make sales calls? 

That’s right.

And in the case of prospecting, that injury rate is close to 100%.

So whether prospecting or calling on current customers, too much time is spent at home, thinking about making those sales calls but doing totally different and unrelated activities at the same time. If sales reps also farm, they’re often busy cleaning the machine shed or getting machinery prepared to go to the field in a few months. While doing jobs unrelated to making sales calls may seem harmless, those reps lull themselves into believing they are preparing for the calls just by thinking about them. But by the time they force themselves to hit the road, their desire, and their ability to execute are injured to the point of making them ineffective.

They tried to prepare for sales calls while working around the farm while their minds are “at home.”

When preparing to make sales calls you can physically be at home but your mind must be out there on the road in front of prospects and customers as you practice and role play the call with a business associate, spouse or partner.

Seed sales reps can never listen to markets at home without being severely injured or handicapped when it’s time to make sales calls.

That’s because they have no way of not having those market facts stuck in their minds when they make the sales calls. Top sellers know what to say when they out on the road if a prospect or customer brings up markets so they never get hurt with that kind of conversation. But when they listen to the markets at home prior making sales calls, they are badly injured mentally and much more likely to get into a price fight or lose their enthusiasm for making calls all together.

Another thing seed sellers should never do at home is think about test plots or study their products. They are injuring their ability to think about placing the right varieties in the right fields for customers. They also get hurt by thinking about last year’s results, regardless of whether they were good or bad.

Instead, they should be using the information gathered on the combine rides they did with each customer and be focused on the goals they set based on the bushels per 1000 plant goal for each of their fields.

So many sales reps have their sales either injured or killed by doing things they should not be doing at home. 

Do you want your sales to go up?

Get your mind out of the house, off the farm and into the street where it can’t be hurt or killed. Keep your mind focused on prospects and customers who will test your skills and keep you sharp. Force yourself to wake up and see what a dangerous thing training your mind at home can be. And stop watching Ridiculousness or Jackass, it will only get you in the mood to do something stupid that could injure your mind and body permanently. 

Happy Selling, Rod