I realized this one when I got my first real job out of college with DeWalt Power tools. My job was to drive around to construction sites in a Dodge Ram pick-up truck with a bed full of tools and DeWalk pasted across the side and sell tools to construction workers. I knew enough about tools to be dangerous and went through the DeWalt product training so I could spit out the speeds and feeds with the best of them. But, I but never used tools them to the extent of knowing the real difference between different brands of drills or whatever.

Most of my colleagues focused on going directly to the Foreman (ultimate decision maker) and pitching them on the speeds and feeds of our tools over the competition and whey they should buy ours instead of theirs. When they would get on a job site they would bypass all the workers and pull right up to the Foreman’s trailer. Now, I’m all about top down selling but not when I don’t really know what I’m talking about. Instead, I started by focusing my efforts on the people using the tools and having them educate me on why certain products were better than others based on their specific use case. I sat down with construction workers at lunch and talked to them about what they liked/didn’t like. I let them use the tools for a week in exchange for their insight and feedback on the pros/cons compared to what they were currently using. I learned more about tools in a short period of time than I ever would have otherwise. This approach allowed me to then go to the Foreman and sell based on real world experience with the confidence and credibility I needed to make a difference.

I see many people in Sales/business/life bypass and disregard a lot of people along the way because they don’t think they have anything to do with their ultimate goal and I think it’s a mistake. They might not have a direct or short term impact on your goals but I believe we can learn something from everyone in every situation, good or bad that will help us be more effective and ultimately successful.

Here’s are a few more tips and examples of learning from anyone in any situation: If you make cold calls, the next time you have an open lunch date take your receptionist out and ask them about their job and what approaches work and which ones don’t when trying to get through. If you sell IT services, sit in a server room every once in a while with some engineers one night when they need to stay up configuring systems and ask them to explain to you (without being a pain in the ass) what they are doing and why. If you sell copiers, go on a maintenance call with a service tech and see what they deal with. Go onsite at a current client and see if you can sit with someone who uses your product in their day to day lives and ask for honest feedback. When you lose a deal, ask why. When you win a deal, ask why. When you get fired, go back after the dust settles and find out the real reason.

I’ve lived every one of these examples and I’m a much better business professional and overall person because of them. Keep your eyes and ears open all the time and be open to learning something new every day. Good luck and happy selling.