Quick, name 4 blogs you subscribe to and read frequently

Me:

• Seth Godin 
• Partners in Excellence (David Brock)
• Sales Solutions Architect (Townsend Wardlaw)
• The Sales Blog (Anthony Ianarino)
• Jill Konrath

Now quick, name just two sales webinars you attended in the last 3 months:

Me:

• Forecasting Accuracy Savo Group
• Inside Sales Virtual Summit

Now, what are the last 5 videos’ you watched?

Me:

• Best Sales Man in the World
• Don Draper Mark Your Man
• I’m a Salesman and Proud of it
• Two Most Important Words in Selling

Finally, what are the last sales or learning books you’ve read in the last 6 to 12 months?

Me:

• Challenger Sale
• New Sales Simplified
• Quit Wining and Start Selling
• Snap Selling
• UnThink
• David and Goliath

There has never been a better time to learn from others. Unfortunately, most of you aren’t! What, don’t look surprise or offended, because it’s true. Most of you (sales people) aren’t in anyway shape or form leveraging the wealth of sales knowledge and resources available to you today. You’re not committed to getting better. When I first started in sales, the only options we had were books or company training. That’s it. Today, there are blogs, webinars, ebooks, videos, Linkedin groups and more. The is a plethora of “stuff” out there.

Becoming a better sales person is choice and a commitment. If you’re not following at least 4 different blogs, if you aren’t attending at least one webinar a month, if you aren’t watching videos on a regular basis, if you aren’t participating in LinkedIn groups, your commitment to selling and personal development is suspect and it should be. The wealth of knowledge, information and tools available to you is unmatched in history. There is no justification for being passive or waiting for it to come to you.

We have a responsibility to get better. We owe to ourselves, to our customers and to our employers to be the best we can be. Unfortunately, too many sales people aren’t focused on getting better. They’re too busy, head down, pushing to make quota, get the next sale and close the deal.

Here’s the problem, it’s a losing battle. The longer you go with out growing your skills, the harder it becomes to make your goals. It’s like using a knife too long, eventually it’s going to get dull. You have to stop and sharpen it.

It’s 2013, there is NO EXCUSE for not learning. Be a deliberate learner. Know who you want to learn from and get going. There is some good stuff out there.