Knowledge is only as good as it is current and useful. Think about that for a moment. If the knowledge you have isn’t current — and by that I mean hasn’t changed since you learned it — and you can’t put it to use, then what purpose does it have?
My goal is not to argue with academia
Rather, my goal is to challenge the fact that too many sales leaders are running around making decisions based on information that is outdated. They use outdated information based on experiences from years gone by to somehow justify decisions they’re making today.
I’m not pointing the finger at any single reader, but what I’m asking each reader to do is to think for a moment about information they’re holding onto and using to guide their thinking.
The sales profession continues to evolve, and I’ve seen too many sales leaders in senior level positions fail to see how their industry has moved from tactical execution to strategic selling. I use that merely as one example.
Customers have more knowledge today than ever before, yet there are still sales leaders out there thinking their job is to provide the customer with data dumps.
The role of a sales leader is not to be processing yesterday’s information, but rather to see what is needed for tomorrow’s opportunities.
When a sales leader assumes this approach, it then rubs off on the sales team, because they now see their leader viewing things differently.
One of the quickest ways to spot dead knowledge is by looking at the make up of a sales team.
If the team has been together for more than five years with little change, then the thinking is growing stale and there is going to be some dead knowledge. If the team has been together for more than 10 years, you can bet there is going to be a significant amount of dead knowledge at all levels.
I refer to it as the 10-year curse, and what happens is everyone starts breathing each other’s oxygen and nobody challenges anyone, let alone the sales leader.
Do you or your team have any dead knowledge? Chances are you have more than you realise.
