I don't know about you, but I am increasingly upset about how we, as salespeople are depicted on television, in movies, and even in commercials. Not too long ago there was a movie that you may have seen called Tin Men starring Richard Dreyfuss as a siding salesman. This was not the first movie to pick on salespeople and it certainly won't be the last. In Cadillac Man, Robin Williams' character went as far as to try and sell a woman a car at her own husband's funeral! Why do salespeople have such a bad rap?

Well, there is really only one answer to this question. Somewhere along the way we earned it. I don't know about you, but I am very proud to be a salesperson. Some of the most successful people in the world are wonderful salespeople! That is what I've devoted my career to for the last twenty years: changing who we are as salespeople by throwing away the old, tired salesperson's pitch and replacing it with knowledge, skill and empathy for our customers.

There is only one way to break out of the stereotype that salespeople as a group have formed over the last hundred years. We have to become more professional as a group. If you think about it, retail is one of the few industries in the world where you get the job, and learn how to do it later, if you're lucky. If your organization doesn't have any formal training, then chances are you learned everything you know from trial and error. Well, it's about time we started learning from others' mistakes and successes.

I've put together some questions for you to ask yourself to help you determine your level of professionalism. All of these may not apply to you, however, try to step away from your situation for just a moment as you read these questions. One or two of these may change the way you look at your job forever!

Question #1: You know what you know, but are you aware of all that you don't know? Are you interested in finding out?

I learned a long time ago that I'm the only one who I can hold responsible for my success or failure. If you work for an organization that has a formal training program, that's wonderful. You should be that much more ahead of the game. However, if you work for an organization that has a "sink or swim" philosophy, you should be fully aware that you are capable of succeeding if you take responsibility for your own education and your own success. Go to the library, and read about what you do for a living. Ask questions of your managers or salespeople around you with more experience. Order subscriptions to trade publications to keep informed so you can better serve your customers. If you're going to be great, you need to know all there is to know and more. If you want to know, no one can keep you from finding out.

Question #2: Do you have contempt for your customers?

I used to work for a company that had contempt for its customers, and that's why I don't work there any longer. It's very dangerous to feel superior to the customer. I've seen salespeople so intent on being right, and so positive that they know more than any customer possibly could, that they drive away business, and are actually proud of it, which is just plain foolish. Your goal as a salesperson is to sell as much as is humanly possible. It's also to make sure that in the process, every customer is happy and will either return or tell others about you and the store. Feeling disdain for customers only prevents you from fulfilling that goal. After all, if you think about it, you need your customers more than they need you.

Question #3: Do you find yourself complaining a lot of the time? Do you find yourself approaching things from a negative, rather than positive, point of view?

I used to be a complainer. I worked in a store that I thought could really use some improvement. I thought the advertising was less than effective. I thought the selection was poor. I thought the store location was wrong for our target customers. I thought the paperwork was disorganized. I thought the store layout was hindering my sales. You name it; I had an opinion on it-usually negative. Then one day, I realized that my boss wasn't as inexperienced as I thought. I mean, he owned the store, and that says something in itself. Sure, there was room for improvement, but what store exists that's perfect? If I wasn't able to contribute an idea of how the advertising should be different, or free up the money to carry a more extensive inventory, or clean up the paperwork situation, then what business did I have complaining about it? The point is that after many years of business the store had been doing, and still was doing, just fine. The moment I came to this realization, my own personal sales increased. I finally understood that the owner didn't hire me to critique his business strengths and weaknesses. He hired me to sell what he had bought, in the location that he had chosen, with the advertising backup that he provided and to follow the procedures that had been set up after years of experience. I finally decided to do what I was hired to do. The owner was still very open to hearing my suggestions, but I never complained again.

In actuality, there are some things that are within your control, and some things that are not. You will be a much happier salesperson when you learn to work with what you have rather than dwelling on that which you do not have. If you do have a suggestion to a problem you see, that's great. Presenting in a positive light may really help the ownership or management. If you don't have a solution, it's better to continue to do the best you can in the current situation.

Question #4: Are you too pushy and aggressive, or too shy and reserved?

The story of salesmanship is an interesting one. The first time a general store experienced competition and the owner started pressuring his or her salespeople to sell more to stay in business, we saw the birth of the pushy and aggressive salesperson. On the other hand, the person who experienced this aggressive salesperson as a customer and then went to work in another general store became the first shy salesperson. After all, he or she didn't want to treat the customer as he/she had been treated!

Unfortunately, most salespeople fall into one of these two categories: they chase customers away because they are too aggressive or they never sell anything because they are too shy. You will be relieved to know that there is a happy medium. Customers actually love to receive wonderful customer service, and if they save time immediately by finding what they are looking for, they are extremely satisfied with their experience in your store.

Along with some sales techniques, all the shy salesperson needs is an understanding of who customers are, and what they want.

On the other hand, the aggressive salesperson at least has the understanding that customers need to leave with merchandise for both the salesperson and the store to be successful. This salesperson does, however, need to practice some sales technique to be sensitive not only to what the customer wants and needs, but also to how they feel. In both cases, it really is a matter of understanding salesmanship and of learning.

Whenever I'm in a store as a customer, I pay attention to what the salesperson does that causes me to leave or to make me feel as if they were pushy. Then I figure out a less offensive way of handling the same situation in case it occurs to me when I'm with a customer.

Question #5: Do you feel like because you have been a salesperson for a long time that there is nothing you can learn to be more successful?

One of the most dangerous situations to be in is that of being stagnant. If you have ever heard me speak, you may have heard this but I know it to be true: if you are not getting better, you are getting worse. In our world, things are continually changing. Think about it, I can remember when my first calculator was about as big as three heavy textbooks and cost me $200! Now I can buy a credit-card sized calculator in the drug store for $5.95. Forget about desktop computers, there are now notebook computers and even smaller, more powerful computers on the way.

The world of sales is changing constantly, too. That old, tired close you may have been using for the last 15 years isn't working anymore. It's time to open your mind to what's happening today and what will be happening in the future. Explore new ideas, concepts and beliefs.

Even if I read a thousand books or watched a hundred tapes on salesmanship, and I only learned one new technique, then great. That's one more technique than I had before. If I don't have the capacity to learn and get better, what's the point of even playing the game?

Question #6: Do you go the extra mile for your customers each and every time, or only when you feel like it?

I used to let my own personal mood or feelings get in the way of satisfying my customers. It is hard to leave your personal life behind when you get to work, especially if you are having a lot of problems in your life. Sometimes, it's all you think about when something is really wrong. Then I learned a very important lesson that I'd like to share with you. The more you produce, the happier you will be, despite any personal problems you may be having. It sounds strange at first, but when you think about it, it makes sense. You are at work and getting paid to do your job. It only makes you unhappier when you don't live up to those responsibilities.

On the other hand, if you are having problems outside of work, and you still manage to come into work and give it your all, it gives you a different perspective on things. If you can produce well at work, chances are you can solve your personal problems, too.

In retail, we have the tendency to feel that we don't necessarily need to make a sale with every customer. After all, there will be more customers to sell to tomorrow when you feel more like working. What you must realize is that business is built one customer at a time. Every customer who walks out without buying because you don't feel like giving your best on that particular day or with that particular customer, might end up telling his or her friends, who in turn tell their friends. Pretty soon as many as 200 potential customers might know that the store you work in is not the place to go to buy. How long do you suppose your store will be in business with a reputation like that? Every customer matters, and if you can't be enthusiastic for every single opportunity, then you shouldn't be a salesperson, because that's retail.

Question #7: Do you think about how you are selling as much as you think about how much you are selling?

Posting big numbers is very exciting. You don't want to go home at the end of the day without that sense of accomplishment, and that's understandable. I am not suggesting that you not care how much you sell, but I do want to challenge your thinking a little.

I have been in thousands of retail stores all over the world, and one thing I know is that salespeople love to talk about the sales they've made. How they found out exactly what the customer was looking for, how they handled that monstrous objection and what extraordinary close they pulled out for the finale. I think that's great, and I don't begrudge people talking about the wins they've had. There is one thing I know, however, that made me one of the most successful salespeople on the retail floor in my day, and it's because I spent more time analyzing why I didn't make a sale than I ever did bragging about a sale I did make.

What would happen if you took a moment to wonder about how you could have made the sale with that last customer who walked out the door? I always had the belief that someone could have made a sale that I didn't, so why didn't I?

I have a lot of faith that you will join me in the cause to make retail salesmanship more professional. We've had the time to work out all of the bugs, and there are people out there who are selling a lot and satisfying customers. I vote we learn from them and change this industry.

If none of these questions hit a chord with you, that's all right. Maybe you are one of the salespeople who takes pride in their job. If some of the points I raised hit a sore spot with you, it's time to get on with the business of being professional. Good luck!