Much of the world and even many in the U.S. are right now engrossed in what is happening in South Africa, where the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament is underway.
Still, soccer is a long way from being a mainstream sport in this country (and I say that as a former high school player and long-time fan) and to many, the intricacies are a foreign language. I recently had a conversation with someone I know who understood the basics, but was trying to get a deeper understanding of sport to have an appreciation of the World Cup.
Telephone sales expert Art Sobczak admits he is not much of a soccer fan (although he called himself "a sports geek" in a recent TelE-Sales tip.
And like my friend, he said is making an effort to learn about the World Cup and the sport itself, down to the plastic horns (vuvuzelas) being blown by the fans during the games.
There is a sales lesson in this, Sobczak continued. "You have certain thoughts, interests, beliefs, and knowledge about your products and services, why you think your prospects and customers should buy, and what you want to do.
"But, most importantly, you are not your customer.
"In sales, it does not matter what you want. It needs to be all about them.
"When you let your interests and desires get in the way, that creates objections. That is, if you are even able to get to that point, meaning self-interested salespeople often don't even get the chance to speak with a prospect, since their 'all about me' calls, e-mails, and voice messages are ignored and deleted.
"So here's one of the simplest principles of sales success: Forget about what you want. Make it all about them," Sobczak said.
Art Sobczak is the president of Business By Phone, Inc., Omaha, Neb. To get more of his tips, go to
