Once upon a time, in a sales bull pen far, far away, there lived a dude, who had a rare gift. He was blessed with the ability to point his finger and label common knowledge as “common sense”.
He would show up reluctantly to the weekly sales meeting and indulge in “outer body experiences” Why? Because the material that was being taught was common sense!
On the rare occasion the dude would crack open a book or visit a website, he did so as the skeptic and never the scholar. Why? Because he heard it all before and this was just “common sense”!
The years were not kind to the dude and somewhere between his first “common sense” and his first outer body experience , he became a very broke, bitter old dog who eventually died a very bitter, broke old dog.
As the old dog passed through the gates to the hereafter, he asked his creator why his life had turned out so poorly. His answer came swiftly and a lifetime too late . . .
“You were such a dumb ass waiting for the big answer to which there was none. The secret to your happiness was in the common practice of common sense! Now leave me alone “dog boy” or I’ll send your ass on the down escalator”
Now that “Story time with Uncle Paul” has concluded, you need to understand that the “Dog” lives in each of us. He shows his face every now and again and eats our money like a bowl full of Kibbles (or even Alpo or Gravy Train)
STOP looking for the big answer, the big “AHA” because it does not exist! When it does, you and I can write the sure to be best seller “I Figured It The Hell Out!” Until then, the secret is in the common sense that isn’t commonly practiced!
Cure: The next time you find yourself saying “That’s Sales 101” Ask yourself a simple question: “Is it sales 101 and I’m doing it, or sales 101 and I need to be doing it?” And just for sh*ts and giggles, if you’re doing it already, ask yourself “Have I attained mastery of the ‘101ness’” If the answer is no to either question then that dog won’t hunt sista!
Uncle Paul’s Zen Moment: If you open yourself up to the “101ness” and embrace something called mastery. Your life will change in that instant. And if I may take on the image of some ancient Chinese Zen dude for a moment . . your big AHA and big answer will come in the form of enlightenment, awareness and new distinctions. Try seeking that Grasshopper!
That’s when you become lethal!
But that’s just common sense. 
Paul “P-Dawg” Castain
Pointing his gun sideways and leading the Anti “101ness” movement!
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Great post Paul and a good reminder.
Never think you’ve gotten all the training you need and know all there is to know about sales. When I had a staff of experienced recruiters I needed to constantly remind them to pay attention and go back to the basics. Experts like to “wing it”. When you wing it and try to get by on your “common sense” you miss thing – forget an important step in the process or make a mistake. Wise advise to not take your **super sales hotshot** skills for granted. You aren’t always super and you can’t always be a hotshot.
Whenever there has been a downturn in the economy I’ve gone back to the basics.
Thanks Fran!
If there were ever something good that comes from challenging economic times its that more people tend to get back to the basics.
The other thing to think about is that when we go through life with this attitude that things are “sales 101″ and meanwhile, we’re not doing them; that’s when we get sloppy which in turn brings about challenging financial times.
As sales people we are giving this protective coating called an “ego”. It keeps us safe from rejection and enables us to leap tall gate keepers in a single bound.
And . . .
It also gets in the way of our growth from time to time!
Thank you so much for stopping by as well as your kind words on Twitter!
Respectfully,
Paul Castain
AHA! Now I get it!!! That’s the BIG idea I’ve been looking for!!
Thanks Kelley!
You guys have no idea how difficult it was to get that damn dog to stay still long enough for us to snap that picture
TGIF!
Paul
Paul: Great use of story – and I can’t tell you the number of times a company has said “We need advanced sales training” so I’ve delivered it, only to find out that people weren’t even using the fundamentals.The classic “knowing/doing” gap!
Thanks for a great message -
Donna
Good point Paul,
Too often I felt cheated while attending paid seminars on how to improve my sales techniques, overcome objections etc… just to find out I already knew what to do. Those terrific tips are nothing else than “Common Sense”. The point lies in the question: “Am I really doing it?” It is always good to have someone reminding us not to give up on “common sense” especially during this challenging economy. So I should not give up on “common sense”, perseverance is essential.
Thanks again,
Florinda
P-Dawg
I like your style yo. I think about this concept a lot. I get bombarded with messages every day from people who want to share with me the “secret to success in social media,” or “how to make a gazillion dollars overnight without ever leaving the comfort of my easy chair.” Evidently the market for snake oil is running strong despite a limping economy. Does PT Barnum have a blog?
For most of us however, as you have pointed out, the key to success will be to work hard, work smart and prioritize our time around common sense principles proven to provide substantial returns.
I’m very grateful for the priceless nuggets you share with us on Sales Play Book every week. Nonetheless, having the right information does not always solve the problem – which seems to be your second point: Many know what they should be doing, but somehow don’t end up doing these things most of the time!
Why is it that we so often know right well what to do, and yet we don’t do it? Hmmm.. perhaps this would make a good topic for another Sales Play Book think piece. Feel free to mention that it was my idea..
Love ya, mean it ;0
Don F Perkins
Thanks Uncle Paul for the great reminder to stay true to the basic. My sales staff is well seasoned and we work with a large subscription base. Sometimes it seems that we “know” our long-standing customers so well, that we forget to find out what is going on with them and uncover their current business needs. Both the sales rep and the customer “think” they know what the other one is about; until the sales rep goes to the basics of uncovering the client’s needs — asking those basic questions — opportunities are missed. You are right, challenging times give us a chance to step back and review what we are doing.
Thanks for giving us pause. I’m sharing this with my group!
@ Donna Highfill: Thank you! I’ve experienced the same thing as a trainer many times! Actually, too many times
The “Knowing/Doing Gap” kills more careers and should be called “the silent killer” because we never see it coming.
Knowledge isn’t power . . . it’s potential power until we do something with it!
@ Florinda Colacio: It aint easy when you invest your time and money only to get some repackaged sermon you heard before. I’ve been in that scenario myself. That’s where the question comes in (am I doing it) Now if the answer is a resounding “YES” then my next question needs to be . . . how can I do it better? Easier said than done at times, but something all of us (certainly Uncle Paul) needs to do.
@ Don “The Dawg” Perkins: That would make an awesome topic and part of the answer to that is in our own fear and our own laziness. It’s just easier and safer to label things as “101″ than doing them and God forbid we should fall on our face and fail. I read an interesting study from Dr Piers Steele on procrastination where they found (as if this is a shock) that at the root of procrastination is a fear that we can’t do the task, so we avoid it.
There might be an interesting tie in with the “101ness” in there somewhere.
@ Diane Sheldon – Ku : I first learned this lesson many years ago as a guitar student. I thought I knew it all (certainly the basics) After putting me in my place (by showing me that I in fact Did NOT know the basics properly ) my teacher taught me something that has served me well in business. He said “You need to really understand the rules (basics) to the point of mastery. Once you master them, you get to break them and rewrite them” How true when we really think about it!
Thank you all for your contributions, kind words and simply . . . for reading!
With respect and appreciation,
Paul Castain
The best time to “sharpen the saw” is right now! Your competition may be growing while you are sitting still…