Becoming a Black Belt in Business - Salesmanship and the Tenants of Tae Kwon Do

What can a sales person, marketer or business person learn from the martial arts? The answer: A lot! There are five tenants that make up the core of Tae Kwon Do. These tenants are:

-Courtesy
-Integrity
-Perseverance
-Self Control
-Indomitable Spirit

This article is the first in a series of articles that will focus on these tenants and the impact they can have in the business world. As a practitioner, these tenants can do wonders in building self confidence. They also provide a focus for achieving something bigger and better than one's self. Tae Kwon Do teaches self-confidence and focus through these tenants, which are necessities in the world of sales, marketing and business.

Courtesy, as defined by Merriam Webster's online dictionary, is the act of consideration, cooperation and generosity in providing something. What services or products do you provide? When people think of you do they see you as a generous cooperative and considerate person? If they don't or have a negative perception of you, it must be changed immediately. These negative perceptions not only impact you but the organization that you represent. As a sales person, marketer or business owner these negative perceptions whether true or not will have a negative impact on your bottom line and will ultimately make selling that much harder.

People are emotional and attach emotional qualities to real world transactions. Should buying gasoline or gum be an emotional transaction? What about a car or furniture? You might not think so, but it very much is. Whether it's a pushy car sales person or a testy clerk who had a bad day at the gas station, the interaction related to even the simplest purchases can have an emotional affect on the person making the purchase, which can ultimately impact them doing business with you in the future. A business that I frequent regularly, teaches their associates that no matter what at the end of a sale they must say, "We appreciate your business and have a great day". A simple and powerful act of courtesy that does wonders for customer loyalty because it stimulates a positive response which in turn creates a positive perception.

If you don't know how your customers perceive you or your organization you should! A strategy should be implemented to discover the identity associated to you or your organization by your clients. After all, lost clients are much harder to get back once they've moved on to a competitor. One simple way to kick start this process is to send out customer surveys. If needed attach a prize or offer to help the response rate. The survey should ask specific questions about delivery, product satisfaction, the perception of sales and customer service personnel, costs, etc.

Take the time to understand the touch points you have with your customers and the emotional impact those touch points may be having. Understand the emotional dynamics involved in your sales, marketing and business processes to ensure that you're building a solid relationship that will ultimately increase sales and customer loyalty.