Soft Skills can be So Hard

Selling skills or soft skills are the number one need today for the sales channel to thrive. The old-style sales books and cassette tape series were good way back in the days of the wood-burning computers, but they are not enough today.

Today's selling skills have to include technology. In the old days, for example, they taught you to network to grow your book of business. That meant joining associations, getting involved in non-profits, etc. All that would allow you to grow your contacts and hopefully, some of those contacts would walk into your store and buy something.

Today you still need to do that. But you also need to tackle technology. You have to network on LinkedIn and Facebook. You have to engage in Twitter and other social media because people are hanging out there, too.

That means more areas of responsibility and opportunity: You can be "old school" and focus on in-person networking and succeed. You can use technology and spend your time networking via social media. You can do both and you'll be a lethal selling weapon. But if you do none of the above, stick a fork in it, it's over.

Barry LaBov
LaBov & Beyond
www.labov.com
www.labovsaleschannel.com