Some say that salesmen are born, adorned with the gift of gab, charisma, interpersonal skills, a great smile and the confidence of a heavyweight champion! From birth, these rare individuals are destined to become successful purveyors of goods and services without even a modest effort or learned skill. Are there people that are born pilots? Natural-born attorneys? How about natural-born nurses or teachers? Silly, isn’t it. In reality, selling is a learned skill like so many others, a proud profession and a tough way to earn a living.  

Tough? Many people picture salespeople as having the good life, ie… few working hours, lots of entertaining, golf, parties, evening functions and the like. There is no doubt that a sales career has its rewards beyond simple compensation, but the profession is not for everyone. Few people could handle the disciplinary requirements, scheduling, personal confidence, high energy and the all-too-important ability to handle rejection.

What draws people to this mysterious profession? Some will say that it is the opportunity to earn a high level of income. Others will say that it is the freedom that they crave. Still others desire the independence and the ability to work from home or a personal office. Some like the personal responsibility and the "sole-proprietor" nature of the work. Many like the ability to determine the level of income desired and developing the account base to allow this income to become a reality. 

In sales, every day exposes new adventures. Each sales call presents a new opportunity to test your skills, resolve, durability, patience and problem-solving abilities. Likewise, each day presents numerous opportunities to deal with a number of new people, new personalities, and new relationships. This can be quite stimulating and exciting. For me, it’s the best part of the job. Interaction between people creates scenarios that are individualized and unique, even within the same company or industry. This is the ingredient that keeps the process from becoming mundane. Each day holds new adventures and opportunities because we will encounter new situations, new people and new possibilities for unique solutions. These challenges stimulate our desire to find other new and challenging situations to find solutions for.

Most salespersons that I have known crave newness. Many desire new and fresh challenges each day, each week, each month. Each day brings the opportunity for new adventures. Yes, the procedures, use of tools and routines may be the same, but each call is different and unique in its own requirements and interactions. Each appointment yields its own magic, contributing to an exceedingly satisfying career. 

Like many professions, Click here requires the development of critical skills, ongoing personal development, gut-level instinct and unlike most career paths, a thick-skin! This last component is the one that most fledgling and some experienced salespeople struggle with daily. It’s the issue that is often responsible for turnover in our field or a persons exit from sales altogether. This thick-skin concept is where much of the message from this book is centered, both directly and indirectly. Not every person attempting a career in sales can handle this requirement. It’s the point where the "rubber meets the road" and the "real men are separated from the boys." 

My focus here in Click here, is the nurture and development of the salesperson as a person. This is the point where this text departs from other sales training books in that my focus is not specifically on various sales techniques and closing skills, rather the personal development, growth and inter-personal skills of the salesperson. While proven selling techniques are very important skills to learn, they are somewhat useless if the salesperson lacks the necessary personal skills to maximize his mastery of them as well as the necessary confidence in himself to guarantee his success and fulfillment in his chosen career. 

As in my first book, Click here, this new work is what I call a "skinny book", one that is loaded with "real meat, no filler or fluff." This book is designed to be absorbed by the reader, rather than being studied, deciphered or discerned. Almost every concept can be immediately applied. The lessons taught are indeed simple, but seldom easy. Some require a paradigm shift, a change of thinking and a new direction from the reader. Some lessons are procedural in nature while others may require some serious introspection.