What is the most under rated way to become a true sales pro who consistently smashes target and earns the serious money? Well, it’s to read more quality books.
But what is the second most underrated way to quickly improve your sales skills, networks and net worth’s? It’s to invest in yourself and attend sales conferences and events.
Now I’m not talking about industry specific events. There are a whole tonne of factors that would determine if as a paper salesman you should attend the prestigious, 219th, National Origami Championships.
I’m talking about conferences and events specifically designed for sales professionals to help them become better at what they do.
These sales events allow sales people to do the following –
A) Network with other sales hustlers
There are a large percentage of sales people that are not hustlers. You are not one of them as you’re reading this blog when you could be watching Taylor Swift killing it with another sensational pop master piece on youtube.
You will meet other next sales hustlers at conferences. They’re not just willing to make better use of their time by reading sales content rather than watch a skinny white girl trying to shake her ass, they’re spending their own hard earned money to invest into their careers.
These are the types of people you need to be surrounding yourself with if you want to crush it in sales.
As every guru since the dawn of time has said –
“You are as successful as the 5 people you spend the most time with”
The sales pros you will meet are are not the dumb (but fun) blokes you hang around with on a Friday evening at the pub.
They are go getters. Spend time with them and you will become one too.
B) Look into the future
Sales is changing rapidly. The only thing more terrifying to me than the potential of being replaced by an online order form would be if I didn’t know it was coming.
Events like these allow you to see into the minds of true industry thought leaders who, although are still just guessing, are able to give you incites into your industry that you might not have come up with yourself.
C) They can be a positive return on your investment
Would you spend a little money to spend time with someone who is far better than you at a skill you desperately want to master?
Let me sweeten the deal.
Would you spend a £2 to learn from someone who is a master at a that skill. Knowing that you will earn an extra £4 at work the next week?
It should be a no brainer.
Just one or two changes to the way you sell can easily confound to thousands more in commission checks over time. You are doing yourself a disservice by not investing into your sales career.
Remember, your competition likely isn’t even reading this post, never mind attending events in their own time.
To win the business all you have to do is be slightly better than your competition…
Awesome! Where should I start?
Of course not every sales conference is going to provide you with this positive ROI but here are two that I’m confident to share –
Accelerate Sales Conference (August 19/20th 2015) – Some A+ speakers attending this event such as the powerful Matt Heinz (who we’ve had on the Salesman Podcast) and Craig Rosenberg.
Importantly though the whole focus of the conference is to enable you to ‘Walk away a better sales person, with strategies you can implement into your business tomorrow!’.
Clearly the hosts of the conference Pipeline Deals tick the boxes of what a conference for sales pros should do.
Level Up 2015 (September 10/11th 2015) – Jeff Shore is a sales hero of mine (although I didn’t tell him that when he came on the podcast). Charismatic, knowledgeable and full of sales incites I’d recommend any event he was speaking at never mind ‘Level Up’ which is an event he is hosting.
This one is perhaps more focused to the sales management/leadership which is why I’ve included it.
So if a ‘sales conference’ is going to allow you to –
- Network with sales people who are doing better than you
- Speak with true thought leaders (not gurus) who can give you future incites about your market
- Give you a positive ROI on your sales skill
Then you should make it your duty to attend them.
In testament to how underrated I think sales conferences are in helping you become a true sales hustler, in the second part of 2015 I’m going to be making a focused effort to fly out to the leading sales conferences.
I plan to interview the speakers, cover how exceptional the ROI is and then share it all with you the Salesman.Red audience in case you can’t make it (hint hint conference planners if you want to get in front of 250,000 sales people a month get in touch…).
