Last week my son made his first sales call. For an inside sales thought leader, you have got to believe this was big in my house! My brave six year old D.J. read the school script to relatives & friends and got pledges for the APEX fundraiser (yes, that link is shameless promotion for my son).

Watching a little human do this for the first time made ME nervous – and OH. SO. PROUD. It
reminded me of a few truths we could all keep in mind when preparing new hires to take to
the phones for their first time:

1. ANY human will get nervous asking people for money over the phone. Let’s all keep this in
mind when we ask for more dials and results.

Lesson: Don’t assume anyone can do this. His brother BAILED after one call (and he’s the
extrovert in the family!!).

2. The small wins he got (and we celebrated big time) energized him to make more calls. He
was pulling aunties out of the woodwork! Thanks Mary Beth Burke and Amy Bailey!

Lesson: Set up small wins early and celebrate BIG. Then they’ll be hooked.

3. When he got his first “no” he totally rolled with it and still wanted to make another call.
Why? Because we set it up ahead of time that it would likely happen, why, and what to say.
Special shout out to Uncle Shawn who agreed up front to say no to a six year old so we could
teach this lesson (THAT wasn’t easy!).

Lesson: We need to do a better job teaching rejection in new hire training. More “NO” in role
plays and more help in why they happen and the how to handle them.
Remember that just like a first grader, our new hires watch us to determine how to act. It’s
good to show some nerves, to celebrate small wins, and to get right back up like a “no”
doesn’t sting a little. I know that the next time I’m in class I’ll be a little less tough on the 23
year old making his first calls.

By the way, my proudest moment was when he DITCHED THE SCRIPT and felt confident
enough to use his own words. I can’t believe I didn’t record it! (no, that’s not him in the picture,
but it’s so cute, right!?)

The post Three Inside Sales Lessons From A Six-Year Old appeared first on Factor 8.