I started playing drums when I was 8 years old and took weekly lessons from some great teachers. The first thing the teacher had me do was to learn drum rudiments, the definitions of drum rudiments is “in percussion music, a rudiment is one of a number of relatively small patterns which form the foundation for more extended and complex drum patterns. The term “rudiment” in this context means not only “basic” but also fundamental.” Well, that certainly seems important, but to an 8-year-old (and really to anyone wanting to play drums) it seemed boring, and it is at first. All you really want to do is just sit down and “Rock Out”. Unfortunately, for most just sitting down and rocking out without having some fundamentals down is just chaotic noise. Well, the same is true for all of us in the sales profession, we need to have a sure foundation of success rudiments that we learn and internalize so that these fundamentals (rudiments) become second nature to us and allows us to succeed each and every day. In drums some of the rudiments are; paradiddles, flams, flamadiddles, triplets, 5 stroke roll, 7 stroke roll, flip-a-bob (sorry, just made that last one up), etc. Let me list some of the rudiments that we need to learn and internalize to be successful in business and in life:
- *Determination – Determine each day to-
- Be loyal
- Be teachable
- Be confident without being arrogant
- Be patiently impatient (reach out to me if you want to know what I mean by this)
- Be honest
- Be grateful and show it
- Be professional
- Be a goal achiever, not just a goal setter
- Preparation – At the beginning of each day we need to “set our mind right”. What am I reading each morning? What am I listening to each morning and during the day? Remember the definition of prepare – pre is before and pare – fruit (took some liberty here) so, before the fruit comes prepping the ground has to take place each day.
- Anticipation – Take time to look at your business and where things bog down, look at your systems. Seek learning opportunities, in leadership, sales, and life skills.
- Communication – “Seek first to understand, then be understood” (Stephen R. Covey). Learn the right power questions that make all the difference, “Why is that?” “Help me understand that better”. Get clarification from each party” So, if I do this then this will happen by this time…”. Learn to Listen, Assess and Then Address.
- Application – With all thy getting, GET GOING!. Be consistent in your daily rudiments. Inconsistent = Unimportant. This applies also to your personal preparation, your clients, and your family. Don’t forget AxF= S – (Action x’s Frequency = Success).
At the end of each day, we should be able to say, “I can sleep when the winds blow”.
A well-rounded and accomplished drummer never just “wings it” but can quickly adapt to any musical genre because of their commitment to internalizing and practicing critical rudiments, and the same is true for us as successful sales professionals.
Gary Nielson
Nielson Sales Solutions
Speaker, Trainer, Coach
801-580-1468
;
