The real question is what have you learned in last year that you didn't know in the previous year?

Are you growing as a sales professional in 2006?

Or, will 2006 pretty much a repeat of 2005 with respect to your sales expertise?

For too many salespeople, they have unfortunately had one years experience over and over; each year, they go through the same motions, doing the same tasks. Salespeople that dont grow, rarely experience the income growth of those that seek out educational materials and learn from them.

In my first year in sales I was pitiful. Looking back on that year, Im surprised that my company didnt fire me. I was nave, inexperienced and my immaturity made my work ethic suspect. But fortunately, I had two excellent mentors that hung in there with me and helped me to develop my professional selling skills.

Who are your mentors? You ARE who you hang out with, you know. Are your best buddies hard charging superstars at their chosen profession? Or are they goof-offs that pull you down to their level instead of pulling you up and helping you grow?

For the first couple of years I was in the sales profession, I was guilty of hanging out with losers. The guys that were the most critical of the company were among my best buddies. We would sit around after work bad mouthing the boss. I was not a leader; I was a follower. I fell into a trap I now see so many salespeople fall prey to -- a very bad attitude toward the boss and the company. Our prices were always too high. Our company policies were anti sales and pro manufacturing.

After a few years, I left that company and joined a start up organization. This company was different. My coworkers were all vastly superior to me in product knowledge, in work ethic and in attitude. I had to work like crazy just to keep up. My coworkers were winners, however. We sat around and socialized after hours, too, but the big difference was that we were discussing techniques to improve our performance, how to help our customers solve their most pressing problems, how to help them be more successful and how to help them make more money.

I began to grow more than I had ever grown in my life. Those around me could see my growth. My sales numbers also reflected my growth and development into a professional salesperson from that of a journeyman salesperson. I began to receive promotions, my income soared and my self confidence allowed me to overcome obstacles that would have cost me the sale just a couple of years before.

Ask yourself these questions:

What can I do this very day that I could not do in on this day a year ago?

What talents do I possess today that I did not possess at this same time last year?

What skills did I develop this past year that were not a part of my skill set the year before?

How many sales books did I read over the past 12 months?

How many sales seminars did I attend last year?

How many CDs did I listen to this past year to develop my sales skills?

What did I become capable of doing for my customers in last year that I could not have done for them in the year prior?

Did I gain another year of experience in last year or was last year pretty much a repeat of the previous year?

The answers to these questions will tell you if youre green and growing or dying on the vine. Its not just the fifty and sixty year-old salespeople that have stopped growing, all salespeople that have allowed their formal learning process to move to the back burner fall into this category.

Send me an email at blee@BillLeeOnLine.com with sales library in the subject line and I will send you a FREE list of educational resources to get your started building your professional skill set.

Good selling in 2006.