Sales Training: Selling is a Daily Routine

By Mark Bowser

Successful selling is about daily habits. The kind of life we will live is determined by the kind of day we choose to live. Mike Murdock says, "The secret of your future is hidden in your daily routine." Because of this it is vital that we consciously choose good selling habits.

There is a great story titled "The New Leaves." As the story goes, young Tommy was fast asleep when all of a sudden he heard a voice say, "Wake up!" Tommy woke up with a start and saw a little boy about his same age standing at the end of his bed. The boy was dressed in the whitest clothes Tommy had ever seen.

"Who are you?" asked a startled but not frightened Tommy.

"I'm the New Year," said the boy. "I've brought you your leaves."

"What leaves?" asked a bewildered Tommy.

"Your new ones, of course. My daddy tells me bad things about you."

"And just who is your daddy?"

"The old year, of course," said the boy. "He says that you are greedy and that you don't treat your sister very nice. He also said you threw your book in the fire. Tommy, all of this must stop."

A little fear began to creep into Tommy’s mind as he said, "Oh, I must change, you say?"

The boy in white said, "If you don't change then day by day, year by year you will become worse and worse until you become a horrible man who has not a friend in the world. Do you want to be a horrible man, Tommy?"

A now very frightened Tommy sputtered out the word, "No."

"Then you must change today. Here, take your leaves." The boy handed Tommy what looked like white notebook paper. "Read one of these every day and soon you will be a nice boy."

On each sheet read little action steps like, "Help your mom and dad," "Be nice to your sister," and "Pick up your toys."

With that the New Year said, "Good-bye, Tommy. I will be back when I am old to see if you have been a good boy. Remember, bad boys make bad men and good boys make good men."

The New Year opened the window and was gone. The wind blew in the window and tossed the leaves out of Tommy's hand. "My leaves!" exclaimed Tommy. Tommy’s mother came into the room to see what the commotion was about.

Tommy looked around the room for his leaves but he couldn’t find even one. With confidence and conviction in his voice Tommy said, "Oh, well. But I can change without the leaves to remind me. I will not be a horrible man when I grow up." Tommy kept the promise to himself and he grew up to be a very fine man. Set your daily sales habits and keep that promise to yourself.