You've Been Cleared To 35,000 Feet

A few weeks ago, I had the chance to fly from Sugar Land, Texas to Charlotte, North Carolina in a private Citation V jet. The best part was that I sat in the Co-Pilot's seat both ways. the Citation V is owned by David Little, the president of DXP Enterprises, here in Houston. We were flying to Charlotte for a sales meeting.  Mr. Little saw the excitement in my eyes to fly on the private jet and saw me staring at all the instruments.  "Hey Curt, why don't you sit in the co-pilot's seat?"  What an invitation

James, our pilot was great.   He explained most of the instruments, answered my questions, filled in the blanks where I wanted to ask a question; yet hesitated.  James is a 20+ year professional pilot who still has the thrill of flying.

Somewhere, between takeoff and landing on our trip from Charlotte to Sugar Land, I took the chance to reflect on my career. James, our pilot has over 20 years of flight time, he knows his airplanes.  I have about 25 years in the selling field; while I think I know, I am open to new ideas, new ways of selling, of understanding buyer behavior, of just about everything. Here are a few nuggets I would like to pass along for those in sales who follow my blog.

• People like to buy, they get annoyed when being sold - DUH! I have been so annoying in my sales career!  There are times when you build trust, understand their needs and wants, identify the challenges, and then present the facts (the solution).  If they get it, they will buy on their time line, not yours.  How many times have I tried to force the issue with cheesy lines, offers, and infomercial techniques "buy wait..there's more!"
• Buyers will be liars.  Yep, they will listen to your presentation, they will show interest, and then, they will not buy.  Sometimes they are just trying to be nice and get you out of their office, sometimes they just do not have the authority to buy, sometimes they are just cruel. They'll lie just to do it.
• There is joy in the selling career - I love it.  I truly love it. Yes, there is a high level of rejection.  Yes, there is a high level of frustration.  Yes, there is a high level of turnover in the sales career.  So what!  We who are in the sales profession know the feeling when you match a challenge with a solution. The excitement of great customer service. The satisfaction when you have earned a reward for a job well done.  If you know what I mean, you might be smiling at this point.
• Continuous Education - In sales, you should always be learning.  I said "should" because not everyone hungers for more education.  I love to read sales books, attend seminars, listen to conference calls, and participate in blogs, interviews, and other venues. Why, because I want to grow, I want to expand my experiences so I can contribute to the next sales call, the next customer question, or the next challenge faced by someone on my team.

"You are cleared for landing..."  Now that is one experience that is different when you are sitting in the very front of the plane!  Lots of work to prepare the plane for landing.  When you hit the runway at 110 knots, and have to stop inside a fixed length, experise is what is required. 

Thank you to David Little for allowing me to travel on his plane.  Thank you to James, our awesome pilot who listened and answered my questions.  Thank you, readers, for allowing me to share my thoughts at 35,000 feet.