Professional vs. Non-Professional Salespeople

I had an interesting conversation with someone this week. Our team went to a sales seminar last week and came back with a lot of ideas on how to use social media to make ourselves better (and hopefully earn more business). I had made a comment about how I use an email marketing tool to reach my clients and prospects at about $25 per month...pretty good investment if you ask me. He couldn't believe I spent my own money on a 'work' tool.

This got me thinking and after a very non-scientific poll I conluded that out of a group of any 20 salespeople, only one has invested $25 of their own money on their own development and improvement in the past 12 months.

The non-professional salespeople don't think it's their responsibility to improve themselves. They won't buy a book, or attend a seminar without their bosses paying for it and requiring it of them. To them, it's just a job.

The professionals invest in themselves. Since they see themselves as professionals, they understand that they must constantly and continually "sharpen the saw." They buy the books, get the newsletters, attend the conferences, listen to the podcasts, etc.

Can you imagine your CPA, as he delivers your tax return, mentioning that he hasn't spent any time updating himself in years? Or the doctor, as he goes into surgery to work on your spouse or child, off-handedly tossing out the fact that it's been years since he bothered to take a class or upgrade his skills.

These seem like silly examples. But most salespeople (95 percent) don't bother to take the initiative to upgrade their skills and develop their competencies. Only the professionals do.

Professional vs. Non-Professional...Which one are you?