I have never been especially mechanical when it comes to cars. No shame about that. Just not something that has ever interested me…even though I have owned three Corvettes.  Can you say mid-life crisis?  Times 3! 

Inevitably, someone will come up to me to have the “gear head” conversation about the car. I must admit, I do get a little embarrassed that I own such a car but having no real idea of what makes it an mid-engine engineering marvel. Resisting the urge, I do not dig the technical hole any deeper by pretending to know.  I just nod my head and say, “she is fantastic”. I realize I am fortunate and blessed to own a great car. 

Years ago, that was not the case. 

I owned cars that needed little fixes to make them work.  A little aluminum foil in the fuse box, a wire that ran from somewhere in the engine to the driver’s seat to crank and needing to disconnect the battery each stop because all the accessories were wired “hot” (still do not know what that meant, but the car eventually caught fire!). 

Each time my car would breakdown, I would be at the mercy of The Mechanic & The Mechanics. I had to trust what the mechanic said because I was ignorant of the mechanics. Since I could not afford new factory authorized parts, I was subject to his “rigging” it to make it work. 

Even if unorthodox, he understood the mechanics of engine operation enough to implement a “work around” …and I needed my car. 

Salespeople depend on their cars. For most of us, our jobs require we be road warriors. If the car does not work, the whole business shuts down. 

Ever had a car that had “issues” and you had to figure out how to make it run so you could get from point A to B?  

Sales is no different. There is The Salesperson and The Sales Process. Some of us are “shade tree” sellers, operating on instinct and superior people skills. Others are college educated, classically trained professionals, who engage highly advanced techniques. The others are all up and down the line –  somewhere in-between. 

Our goal as salespeople is to get from point “A” (prospect) to point “B” (closing). We do not usually question how it works if it is working – until there is a breakdown. 

One thing I know about cars, having owned the worst of them to the best of them.…when the hood is up, it can only mean one of three things;

1. You are trying to fix something to make it run. 
2. You are doing maintenance to keep it running. 
3. You are doing  something to improve its performance and make it run better. 

The next several weeks will be dedicated to helping you with all three. We are going to lift the hood of your sales engine and help you diagnose what may be wrong, what is right, and making it all run more effectively and efficiently. 

To do that, we must look at The Sales Process. We will break it down, part by part, and understand what it does (mechanics) and how to do it better. Many of these things you know by instinct, or you take them for granted. Either way, we are about to lift the hood so we can understand… 

The Mechanic & The Mechanics