by Todd Youngblood
Every mentor I’ve had and every sales rep, manager and executive that I admire and attempt to emulate has one trait in common. Each was and is a serious student of his or her profession. After 30+ years in the sales and sales management game, I’ve come to believe that this trait is the fundamental pre-requisite for success.
Which brings me to this “Speed School” thing… When I first heard about it, I was underwhelmed. You know that feeling you get when respected colleagues excitedly talk about their new initiative, and it sounds like yet another old junk car with a new coat of bright shiny paint? How do you tell them, “Wow, what a fabulous concept!” and at the same time run away at a high rate of speed?
They talked about how each module would be short, to the point, include tools and be immediately implementable. Yippee! More “golden nuggets,” “silver bullets,” and “stakes in the vampire’s heart.” Please… Then they talked about the lineup of topics… Then they talked about the faculty involved… Then they talked about how they hoped they hadn’t made it too hard to drop out… Huh? That really got my attention.
Make it easy to drop out? “Well, yeah,” they said. “Too many people think selling is easy. Something you learn by attending 3 or 4 couple-a-day seminars. You, Todd, being the enlightened guy you are, know that it takes a disciplined, methodical, relentless, never-ending effort to maintain your expertise and credibility with customers.” Whoa! How many laps are there in this Speed School of yours? “Depends on how long you intend to be good at selling your stuff,” they say. “We think the race never ends.” These guys are speakin’ my language!
In my opinion, Stone Payton and Todd Schnick are on to something. I think they intend to pursue perfection. I think they intend to facilitate others’ pursuit of perfection. I think they think like Vince Lombardi who often said, “We’ll never get there, but in pursuing perfection, we will achieve excellence.”
Check out the warm-up lap. Use enrollment code TYYPS99 if you think it’s worth a try. Drop out quickly if it’s ho-hum and let me know I gave you a bum steer. As I always say, Think About It…
FULL DISCLOSURE: If you’ve read this far, it’s pretty clear I’m convinced the concept and content have real value. Given that, I’ve jumped on the honor and opportunity to be part of the Speed School Faculty.
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