Sales Blog for Sales and Sales Management

First let me make it clear that I'm not talking about actually selling raccoons, nor am I talking about raccoons that can sell.

At State Dock in the Lake Cumberland State Park we have raccoons.  I'm sure you are thinking ‘dah'.  Raccoons at a state park.  No, I'm talking about at the dock.  Our slip is about ½ mile from the main entrance to the marina and we have raccoons.  And yes, they do what all landlubber raccoons do and that is; find left over food where ever they can find it and eat it.  The interesting part of this and the link to our post today is the ‘where ever they can find it' segment.

These raccoons, like all raccoons, have those qualities that we would all admire and hope to develop as sales people:

1. Instant bonding and rapport.  Even though we all know that these raccoon supposedly are carriers of the rabies disease it never fails that people describe them as cute and clever.  Never, not once have I heard some one scream in terror at sighting a raccoon.
2. They truly are fearless - no matter what you attempt to do to scare them off.  They do not scare off.  (No need for approval, no fear of rejection). They may leave your boat or slip area but they will not run away.  They just kind of saunter or scamper off.
3. Once they leave you will find them somewhere further down the dock - prospecting - for new food.  (No difficulty recovering from rejection or failure)
4. Once they smell the prospect for food they will try multiple ways to get over, under, through or around any kind of containment device that is the barrier between them and their meal.  (passionate, committed and persistent)
5. They close.  They may not get every meal but they eat.  The only metric you need to verify that they close is the girth of the bodies of these animals. They are not the scrawny scavenger type of animals that barely eke out an existence.  It is very evident that they eat well and often.

So next time you are thinking about your sales skills and those characteristics necessary for success in selling, think raccoon.