Following Footsteps

In the picture below, you see a barefoot, crazy person (me) crossing the road. It’s not just any crosswalk, it’s THE crosswalk featured on the cover of The Beatles’ masterpiece Abbey Road, my favorite album of all time. The white building in the background is Abbey Road Studios, where some of the best music in history has been recorded.

Why am I barefoot? Paul McCartney, my favorite performer of all time, appeared barefoot on the Abbey Road album cover. I am following in the “footsteps” of Sir Paul McCartney, the most successful songwriter of all time! Cross that off the bucket list!

Much like musicians follow in the footsteps of their favorite artists, entrepreneurs and sales people should follow the examples of professionals they admire. Sales professionals develop their sales processes and selling styles based on what they have learned from other successful professionals.

Good musicians keep their ears and minds open to new styles and sounds. Business professionals also should be open to new and effective ways to improve their business performance. The most successful professionals I know are life-long learners of sales and marketing. They are on a mission to find out “what’s working.”

There are big differences between knowing, doing and mastery. On Abbey Road, The Beatles were masters of their craft. They were much better musicians in 1969 than in 1964. Are you becoming a sales master? What are you doing to become a master? Are you improving your sales process and knowledge as you get older? Would someone want to follow in your footsteps? What music are you making?

Whose footsteps can you follow locally or in our industry? Your role model should be a proven success, a perceived expert, goal oriented, skilled at painting and sharing the picture and willing to share. He or she also should speak at various events and write articles or make similar contributions.

Once you commit to learning from other successful people, it will all “Come Together” for you. You’ll think, “Here Comes the Sun.”

Ray Barry is vice president of Total Product Destruction and president of Total Training Services, which operates The Shred School in Spartanburg, S.C. He can be contacted at raybarry@totaltrainingservices.com or at 864-699-8417.