The Vegetarian Salesman

This past summer, I was reading an article in Bon Appétit written by a mom who took the family vegetarian for a week. It got me thinking.

"I can do anything for a week."

So, with the help of my vegetarian daughter Emma, I set aside all meats for a period of seven days just to see if I could do it.

I had one slip up (I automatically and mindlessly put Canadian bacon into my egg sandwich) but a week later, I declared the experiment a success.

So, I did it for another week. Soon, a month had passed, then two and then two more.

In this time, there were some interesting discoveries. Among them was that I decided to challenge some long-held beliefs about certain food groups. You see, being a vegetarian forces you to get creative with your cooking. No longer can you just throw something on the grill, add a starch, promise to include vegetables with your next meal, and chow down. Now, you have to rethink everything and part of that thought process means re-examining disgusting things like cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

I tell you all this to make a point.

Veteran sales people get set in their ways. Certain belief systems are set up and we stick by them year after year.

But what was true years ago might not necessarily be true now. What long-held beliefs are you hanging onto? Are you still calling on the same kind of customer because you believe that is your target market? Are you still saying the same thing that you said back in the day? Have you bought any new clothes recently...That tie you've got on, for example. Seriously?

You owe it to yourself to steam up some cauliflower and give it another shot. Try calling on a different crowd and saying something different. Challenge those beliefs. You can always run back to them (I still find cauliflower disgusting, by the way), but if you keep doing what you are doing, you'll keep getting what you're getting.

The next Sales Challenge program starts on the first Monday of the month. Use the promo code, “30for30” and try it out for a month, paying just $30. Go to www.TheSalesChallenge.com or call Bill at (781) 934-7036 for more information.