Two frogs were lounging on a lily pad when a fly suddenly buzzed by. Without hesitation, one frog flicked out his tongue, caught the fly, and chuckled. Not long after, the other frog did the same, catching a fly and joining in the laughter. As the day went on, they continued this routine, each one laughing every time the other caught a fly. A third frog eventually hopped over to them and asked, "What's so funny?" The first frog grinned and replied, "Time." The third frog looked puzzled, so the second frog clarified, "Time flies when you're having fun—or in our case, fun when you're having flies!"
In every job, three elements can make it fun or suck the joy from your life. First is the environment. The second is behavior. Third is the payoff.
If you're a frog, your environment is simple: you get to sit in muddy water all day. The behavior is also simple. You have to want to stick out your tongue regularly and frequently. Finally, the payoff is that occasionally you're rewarded with the chance to eat a fly.
If you were hiring frogs, you would need to make sure that you were talking to creatures that like to sit in muddy water, enjoy sticking out their tongues, and love the taste of flies. If any of those three is not a match, your potential frog candidate is most likely not going to succeed.
If you are hiring a salesperson, it is also important to think about these three elements:
- Do the people you are talking to sound like they would enjoy spending time in your office with your team?
- Are they going to be willing to go out and prospect for new business?
- And if they land a client, will they like the way the relationship tastes?
Not all animals are frogs. And not all of the people who claim to be sales studs are right for your company.
The single most important thing I have learned as a sales trainer is that not everybody should be in sales. And that's ok. We help our clients figure out if they have the right people, the right strategy, and the right structure to succeed. Then, we help them get better at execution.
Trying to figure out if your people enjoy catching flies? Contact Matt Nettleton, Sandler Training, DTB at matt.nettleton@sandler.com or 317-695-8549.
