Some background Information:
The National Sales Center recently released it’s new format that starts with Session VII. The old format consisted of a 45-day training session for between 8 and 12 accepted applicants, while the new format consists of a 35-day training session for 16 accepted applicants, followed by a certain number of 30-day selling sessions. At the end of each session, the most distinguished program participants are made available for interviews by Major League Soccer teams, while the rest continue on to the next session until the last session is complete. There are a maximum of three 30-day selling sessions after the initial 35-day training session.
The Sales Center’s structural shift creates 3 levels of competition: One at the end of the initial 35-day training session, one at the end of the first 30-day sales session, and one at the end of the second 30-day sales session (everyone left will likely be interviewed at the end of the third sales session and won’t be competing with other trainees for the right to be interviewed.) The decision of who to graduate after each session is based on sales performance and employment readiness as considered by the National Sales Center’s Director.
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The program’s new format makes it more competitive, but, in the grand scheme of things, being hired to work full-time for a team one month earlier than the other trainees isn’t exactly like winning an Oscar. It is even possible that being ready for full-time employment could be disadvantageous if the team’s that are hiring are not ones that you are particularly interested in. But getting hired is getting hired, and I doubt that any of the program’s participants will be too picky in this regard.
Competition inherently contains strategy. My strategy is to not be afraid, to take my licks and keep on sellin’. Ignorance, in this case, may truly be bliss. If you are reading carefully, you will probably see that this is not really a strategy at all. The rules of the game are still too vague to create a plan for, but while we’re on the topic of games and strategies, I’ll go ahead and throw some numbers your way. Let’s say that the variables for each trainee’s success are: Experience, ability to learn quickly, innate skill, attitude and effort (are these accurate? Yes, absolutely. Am I selling them to you? Yes, absolutely. Are you buying them? You certainly should not.) On a scale of 0-10 here are my scores:
Experience: I did make some cold calls trying to raise money for my elementary school once. It did not go particularly well. Final rating: 0, ehhhhhhhhhh 1.
Quickability: Quickability is a word I just made up. It is defined as the ability to be quick to learn and adjust. This category is a difficult one to judge. From my past, I’ve been fairly quick to pick up certain things, and slow for others. I have always felt quicker than most at understanding rules and strategies for games and puzzles, adjusting to new surroundings and losing my temper at little kids, and slower than most in academic subject matter, reading comprehension and finding appropriate bathrooms when urination is imminent. None of these activities apply here at all, so I’ll just go ahead and put myself right in the middle. Final rating: 5.
Innate Selling Skill: We all know those people, the ones who are naturally intriguing and persuasive. I can safely say that I am not one of them. For me, I think this process will be one of learning by mimicking what others do. At the same time, the sales books that I have read claim that there are very few natural salesmen, that it’s a skill learned through trial, error and humility. I’m pretty sure they’re just selling it. Either way, it was reassuring to hear, and there is hopefully some truth to it. Final rating: 4.
Attitude: This is where I hope to make up some ground. There aren’t many people my age that get up at 7:45 AM on Saturday mornings to watch random English Premier League soccer games live in their living rooms, but I am, somewhat embarrassingly, one of them. To keep a positive attitude, I will need to step back and remember that what I want people to pay for is something that I myself would like to pay for. I think I can do that. Final rating: 8.
Effort: Here’s where things get tricky. What does effort mean? Trainees will be at trainings or selling sessions from 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM every work day. Does maximum effort entail working more hours? Does it mean concentrating on working without distraction each hour of each work day? Perhaps it means working a few hours on weekends? There’s always a line between putting in effort and putting in too much effort. Putting in effort is going the extra mile, while putting in too much effort is going the extra marathon and extra marathons are not good for anyone. For some reason, I feel confident that I’ve learned to tight rope walk that line. Final rating: 6.
Summary: 24 out of a possible 50 points.
Right smack dab in the middle, and I think that’s appropriate. To presume that I am among the best in the class without any evidence of sales success is, well, presumptuous, while presuming that I am near the bottom rungs does not give enough credit to my past non-sales successes .
It’s fun to conjecture about these things, but in the end it’s all for naught. Maybe I’ll be a star, maybe I’ll be a gutter ball. Who knows? What I can do is inhabit the mindset that there is always a way to improve what I do. If I can keep with that motto, than whether I start at the bottom, middle, or top should be irrelevant because my ceiling is a gazillion feet high. Or at least the height the crossbar.
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