Imagine sitting on a plane and the pilot makes the following announcement “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to welcome you on-board our flight today. I just want to let you know that we’re going to have a great taxi and take off. I’ve really mastered those skills. Our landing might be so-so and I can’t make any promises about if we have to make a diversion. I haven’t quite mastered those yet. Anyway, we’ll have that great takeoff, tally-ho!”

There would be a rush for the exit. We expect pilots, and other professions such as surgeons, to be expert and proficient in all aspects of their craft. After all, our lives may depend on it. Pilots, be they commercial or private, are all expected to undergo periodic proficiency checks to ensure they are safe for themselves and their passengers.

But in sales, how comprehensively proficient are we? How well are we prepared for each stage of every sale? How polished are our skills? How much do we ‘fly by the seat of our pants”? If the be truth be told, most of us have blind spots, most of us have skills that aren’t practiced regularly that are a bit rusty.

If Sully Sullenberger and Jeff Skilles hadn’t regularly practiced their emergency procedures would the ‘Miracle on the Hudson’ have had the same outcome?

Most pilots are not a “Top Gun”. But we do expect our flight to land safely, every time. Pilots and top sales people have one thing in common. They do all the basics, all the time. Nothing is left to chance. Risk is identified and mitigated.

There is no magic potion for sales success. No secret formula is to be found in the latest best-selling how-to sales book. Not even two days in a classroom trying to concentrate on the latest super-duper sales process. Reading books and sitting in a classroom does have value, but to expect a radical increase in performance will lead to disappointment. No, the path to sustainable performance is to do what pilots do. They focus on improving and maintaining their skills for all phases of the mission; the big picture, weather avoidance, planning, navigation, ground operations, en-route, terminal procedures, emergency procedures, maneuvers, etc. All the basics, all the time.

Are you a sales pilot?

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