As a sales manager, I needed to recruit, train, and monitor the performance of salespeople from time to time. I vividly remember one annual sales appraisal I had for one of my new sales staff. After we had a detailed discussion of her sales performance, I asked her to comment on her job duties and rate her overall performance.

Contrary to my expectation, she was satisfied with her job level but she ranked herself "under-performing". While I appreciated her candidness, I was at the same time bothered that she admitted her weakness that easily.

I suspected that she was satisfied with her underperformance as long as she was able to get the job done.

After all, "I'll have the job done" was the winning slogan of the present Hong Kong C.E.O., Mr. Donald Tsang.

Personally, I feel a dissonance with the slogan. I feel that salespeople should not stop at having the job done. Instead, they should aim to get the job done well and to the best of their abilities.

Holding this belief, I always remind the participants of my sales trainings of two things.

First, I ask them to pay attention to the environment because in real life, they are all sellers and buyers. I remind them that they can learn selling techniques everyday, everywhere, in different scenarios and different situations and even from different people.

For example, one of the ways to improve your selling skills is to observe other salespeople in action and to study their styles and approach. Ask yourself, what do you like about these people's styles? What do they do that makes you comfortable as a buyer? This might also be a good way to approach your own customers.

In a typical day in your life, how many salespeople do you met? Who do you remember the most? What do you dislike the most about them? Are there any skills you can apply in your own selling? How about mistakes they made that you would like to avoid making yourself?

You might ask (as a very experienced sales executive asked me): "If I did that every day, I wouldn't need to attend any training courses anymore, I could learn everything by myself, right?"

Well, not quite.

Salespeople have to have a correct attitude in their work - that of lifetime learning. As updated, professional, and knowledgeable salespersons, we should develop the habit of keeping an eye on the surroundings, and keeping a conscious mind of what is going on in the society.

This is different from learning and practicing in sales training courses where we can expand our sales skills, sales tactics and strategies.

There is learning within the classroom as well as learning outside the four corners of the classroom, both of which are equally important for any salesperson. Only a commitment to both can truly be considered as real lifetime learning.

The second advice I always give to the salespeople participating in my seminars is to develop their own unique selling styles instead of imitating me, my voice, or my style. This is because they will never say my words better than I can, they can never sell in my style better than I can.

Salespeople are encouraged to sell and present in their own style with their own voice and passion, using the techniques and skills I shared with them only as basis.

Take a look at some superstars like Madonna or Michael Jackson. They are famous and successful because they are unique and outstanding. Likewise, salespeople have to develop their own personal style and excel using that style.

We are all independent and unique entities with personal strengths and weaknesses brought about by our different upbringing and education.

Admittedly, it is not easy to develop new skills. At the start, you may even find using these skills inefficient and unproductive, but just keep practicing! Your own 'voice' will become the most influential, powerful and long-lasting selling weapon.

It is important to provide sales people a chance to find out their strengths and understand themselves in depth. After knowing the strengths and weaknesses, the next step is to find out the techniques to overcome the weaknesses through lifetime learning.