What Version Number Are You?

By Ken Wax

Published in VARBusiness

Suppose I told you I knew a company that's still using Word 2.0 and Lotus Notes Version 3. You wouldn't be very impressed with it, would you? After all, what sort of business stays mired in the past, unwilling to avail itself to advances that will enhance its work and success?

But that leads to the following question--the same one I asked my audience at the Lotusphere conference in Orlando. Everyone was abuzz about the launch of Notes and Domino Version 5.0, and my second slide began by stating that obvious fact. "Domino is now Release 5" came up first. The next slide read: "...and what Version Number Are You?"

Each year, our hardware and software advances. Corporations will not tolerate companies that don't advance their products at regular intervals. But what about the people who are responsible for understanding and explaining those advances? Too many are pretty much the same as they always were.

Do you have eight years' experience--or one year repeated eight times? I'll bet your sales organization has some people who stopped growing years ago. They've convinced themselves that they are wonderful and keep doing the same ol' things in the same ol' ways. Maybe they have added some skill--but they're not important ones to the customer. Over the years they may have learned to memorize specs on the new widget, or now know who in payroll fixes 401K mistakes and who in shipping can get a package out really fast. Let's not confuse this with real value in the field of creating customers.

Practice Doesn't Make Perfect

It only makes you really proficient. I know quite a few magicians through my hobby of sleight-of-hand magic. Sadly, some--despite putting in many hours of practice--don't give very magical shows. People can see their moves, which, of course, ruins the trick. That's because they're doing the trick incorrectly. Until someone helps them see this, their hard work has them, ironically, being masterful at giving a lousy show.

In selling, practicing weak approaches simply makes you very good and consistent at being less-than-effective. In essence, you are well trained in poor execution. Unlike that aspiring magician, who merely kills a trick, that salesperson and his or her company pay a high price for this.

Experience vs. Expertise

Whenever I hear someone tell me, "I've been doing this for decades," I always think of Marty, a friend I've known since college. Marty was a lousy driver back then. And he still is. Sure, he can boast 20 years' driving experience--but my advice is to stay far away from him on the highway.

"Experience" simply means "Longevity." Everyone who manages to stay employed in a specific field can boast about their experience. But only those who continually explore, learn, try and evolve rise to the point where they can also proclaim "expertise." Confusing the two is an expensive mistake, as most hiring managers will tell you.

'Hi, I'm Ken Wax, Version 6.3.'

Imagine if we brought the idea of version numbers to employees. When we meet I could explain the new features or capabilities that can be found in the newest version. "Oh, sure, last year 's Version 6.0 was good, but since then I've found new ways to teach in Asian markets and also created a new speech specifically for sales organizations that are in the midst of upheavals or coming off a bad year."

Such versions could also be useful in managing and developing employees. The vice president could sit down with the sales manager and ask, "Lee is still Version 3.2? Why? He was Version 3.0 when we hired him two years ago. Shouldn't we expect new features and capabilities by now?" Such a clear system for showing that we expect ongoing skill advancement from people in the sales profession.

Every grade school expects students to continually achieve new levels of learning each year. Every technology company expects engineers to advance their skills. Isn't it time that we in sales take the same tack about our people?

After all, does the entire company's revenue stream depend upon their acumen? Maybe it's not practical to institute big lapel pins that proclaim a salesperson's current version number. But I'm not giving up on the idea. Imagine the impact if every person who sold for your company was working to earn a new, higher one.

Ken Wax is president of Total Quality Selling Inc. and speaks to sales groups all over the world.