I normally do only subject matter training. This is capital markets, financial planning, etc. etc. However some of this spills into a sales / attitude training too. In the sense that people ask me ‘If the client says….what should I say?’…I realise that selling life insurance or mutual funds is a really taxing and difficult job. That is no excuse to do mis-selling, but the kids are under tremendous pressure.

The situation is sometimes so bad that if you go to a college you recruited in the previous year, NOBODY wants to take up a sales job!

Here is a nice story when you are feeling low…

A sales trainer started off his training session in a strange manner – by holding up a Rupee 500 Note! Holding up the Note high in the air in one of his hands, he addressed the curious audience, “Who would like this Note?”

With great cheers almost all of them raised their hands with the shout, “I want it”, “I want it”!!

He said, “Oh! That’s nice. Well, I am going to give this Note to one of you… But, first let me do this.”

Then, he crumpled the Note in his hands vigorously & now showed the wrinkled Note by holding up high in his hand. He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

The same hands went up in the air this time too.

“Well”, he replied, “What if I do this?” and he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. It was so smudgy that no one could recognize it now as a 500 Rupee Note. “Now who still wants it?”

Strangely, now also, all the hands were up in the air with equal cheers & spirit.

Now he addressed his audience with great feeling. “My friends,” said he, “You have all learned a very valuable lesson today. No matter what I did to this valuable Rupee Note, all of you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value.

It was still worth the same – Rs.500/-

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt of shame & insult by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come in our way.

We feel as though we are worthless.

But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. YOU HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT IS YOUR VALUE, not the client who is sitting in front of you.

In the eyes of God, you are the same “most precious jewel of His”.

In the eyes of your daughter you are a great father, in the eyes of your wife you are a great husband, in the eyes of your sister, you are a great brother…..the list is endless.

One bad call – remember your next client does not know you have had a bad call – cannot make or kill you. However if you carry the depression of the first call to the second call, HE WILL NOW KNOW! Then the next call…..and so on…

So if you have had a bad call, walk around, have a cup of tea, and as Julie Andrews says ‘think of a few of your favorite things…and you will feel better’ It could be raindrops on petals, or brown paper packages tied up with strings,…rose and satin that stay on your eye lashes!!

  1. No Sujatha, not me. I do not do ‘sales training’ I do only subject matter training. Sadly (and obviously I think) no great demand for subject matter training…:-)

  2. Great post sir.

    This doesnt apply only to sales, also to some managers who run businesses for the companies.

    Usually every year such circumstances come up where you just want to throw in the towel even for few days (to be picked up later again) 🙂

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