Sales Success: George Costanza Style

Seinfeld fans will remember a particularly memorable episode when Jerry’s hapless mate George Costanza turns around his fortunes. His life is full of such bad luck, borne by so many poor decisions, that he has a flash of brilliance – simply to do the complete opposite of everything he usually does.

As Jerry said to him – “If every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.”

Here’s the clip in case you need a refresher:

So, what do really bad sales people do?

Number one, is that they usually only pretend to be selling.  They do just enough to avoid detection.  The really crappy ones spend their days doing the bare minimum and are masters at being busy when someone with authority is in the room.  They try and act like a salesperson.

Number two, is that really poor sales people waste their time.  They spin their wheels, they smoke, they joke, they find loads of excuses not to sell.  I once heard someone say that there is nothing as rare in the world as a sales person who works an 8 hour day.  Most of the really bad ones work no more than 2 or 3, and that’s on a good day.

Number 3 is that really poor sales people don’t learn from their mistakes.  They do the same crappy things, over and over.  That’s because they are only pretending – it doesn’t hurt them enough not to sell.  Which is really management’s fault!

So, do the opposite of all of that.  Be in the moment, and be proud to call yourself a sales professional.  Be selfish with your time, and give it your all so that you know whether you have given it your best shot.  And at the end of every call, every “yes”, every “no”, ask yourself the following three questions:

• What just happened then?
• How could I become even better?
• What steps do I need to take right now to ensure that never happens again?

Want to find out more?

Get in touch with Natural Training today to discuss. Call the team on 0207 043 1582 or email hello@NaturalTraining.com.

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