Only The Strong Survive

If you’ve been in sales for any length of time, you know that things ebb and flow. When the towers fell on 9/11, we all felt punched in the stomach. When the market crashed in the late 2000s, we all tightened our belts and moved forward. What we know for sure is whatever it is – it too, shall pass. Dr. Robert Schuler said it best: “Tough times never last, tough people do.”

Coming out of this current crisis, we know some businesses have not survived and others will not survive, jobs will be lost, jobs have been created and new careers will be launched as a result. For many, a whole new definition of what it means to “go to work.”

Evolutionist Charles Darwin coined the phrase, Survival of the Fittest. I’m paraphrasing, but the strong always survive. So, the question to ask is, are we strong?

What does it mean to be strong in sales? It means you have strong relationships with your clients built on trust and mutual benefit. It means you have strong empathy, expertise and problem-solving skills. It means you have a strong foundation of selling skills and experience. It means you have a strong curiosity and always want to learn new information as the world around us is reshaping, reforming and rebounding. It also means you have a strong commitment to your own professional development.

There are lots of options for training/educational content these days. Books, webinars, online classes and research are all opportunities for you to sharpen your skills, maintain your competitive edge and come out of this stronger, more prepared and better equipped than when you came into this crisis.

Our passion and purpose in professional development at RAB is to inspire, engage, educate, equip and empower people so that they believe in themselves, have confidence in their abilities and achieve even greater levels of success. Our next Radio Sales Essentials class is July 27, and it’s filling up. If you would like to join us and strengthen your skillset, we’d love to have you participate. You can find details on how to register here.

Stay strong and learn something new today.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@RAB.com. You can also connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.