Sales is like performing on stage every day. But what do you do when lines are forgotten, customers keep saying no, and confidence melts after every failure? The truth is that without regular practice, you can't come close to success. Not only in sales - in sports, music, aviation and many other fields, mastery comes through constant practice.
Let's look at why practice is really so important right now.
Sales is a performance-based career. Success in it depends not only on theoretical knowledge, but also on how confidently and quickly you apply it in practice. Every day is a performance: you converse, negotiate and close deals. Like athletes or performers, salespeople need to keep in shape to keep their skills sharp and ready for any scenario.
Even if you once excelled, a lack of regular practice will inevitably affect your performance. Just as an athlete who misses a few weeks of training loses their form, a sales rep risks losing confidence and responsiveness if they don't continually hone their skills. There is no “automatic” in sales - every call or meeting requires full concentration and the ability to quickly adapt to unexpected turns.
Musicians can rehearse the same tune hundreds of times to make each sound perfect. Pilots spend thousands of hours in simulators to be ready for any emergency. And even after they get their license, they return to the simulator regularly.
Sales works on the same principle: you can't become a master simply by reading a book or attending a training session. Regular practice is the key to automatize negotiation techniques, objection handling, and the ability to feel the client's needs. This allows you to be ready for any changes in the market and every new client.
Sales is a profession where success is built on subtle nuances. To stay one step ahead of the competition and constantly improve your results, you need to practice every day.
The more practice, the better the result - there is such an opinion. But in reality, it is not like that. It's important not just to repeat actions. It's important to make sure you're honing the right skills. Otherwise, there is a risk of entrenching wrong decisions. Over time, they will accumulate like a snowball. It will be very difficult to get rid of them, and the damage from them will be enormous.
Habitual actions quickly turn into automatism. If a sales rep perpetuates the wrong patterns, it can lead to serious setbacks:
When a habit becomes ingrained, retraining becomes a real challenge. For example, a sales rep may overly focus on product features and not pain points for years, and in order to correct these mistakes, they will have to not only learn anew, but consciously break old patterns of behavior.
As Andy Korenak said:
“Are you practicing the right things? Or are you practicing the wrong things? By not practicing, you are already practicing the wrong things.”
This phrase hits the mark: 1. Practice is essential—no question about it. 2. It doesn’t matter how much time you invest if you’re practicing the wrong techniques. Sales is an art where every nuance matters. That's why you need to practice not just often, but consciously and correctly.
That's why proper training is so important. It helps you track mistakes, give honest feedback and correct actions before wrong habits become automatic.
In sales, as in sports, constant practice is the key to success. But it is important not only to practice, but to do it correctly to avoid forming ineffective habits. SellMeThisPen AI creates an safe environment for such training. Sellers can practice scenarios such as objection handling, pitching, active listening, and more through realistic AI roleplays with AI buyers as many times as necessary, get real-time feedback from their personal AI coach and course correct without burning valuable leads.
Selling is a dynamic process that requires adaptability, confidence and flexibility. In today's world of sales, those who not only learn, but constantly improve win. And with an AI sales coach on your side, that path becomes easier and more effective.
In this episode of SellMeThisPen Podcast, Michael and Andy talk about the common mistakes companies make during the sales onboarding process, the pressure it puts on new hires, and how to create a more effective and supportive environment for sales teams.
Andy Korenak has over 20 years of experience leading enablement for notable companies like Oracle, Impact, and 8x8. Now, he's the founder of MVP Sales Coach, where he offers expert sales coaching and fractional leadership, particularly beneficial for mid-sized companies.
