Does talent exist? Do you believe talent exists? According to dictionary.com – talent is defined as “a special natural ability or aptitude.” This is actually a very hotly debated topic in the same vein as nature vs nurture. Are some people naturally better at selling than others? Do we have inherent talent that makes us better? If you believe that – where does talent come from? Genetics?
When we think of talents that we have – or others have – we have to ask: Were we born with this? Or were these skills refined when we weren’t thinking about it? For example, if you are a salesperson who can very easily build rapport – when did you first notice you had this skill? Perhaps you made friends easily in high school. You learned to read people well. Or – perhaps you “naturally” excel at asking discovery questions. But was this skill refined as a child when you asked lots of questions? Through the prism of deliberate practice – these skills were most likely being practiced and developed in ways that you didn’t realize.
In the fantastic book Peak – the author tells a story of Ray Allen. Ray Allen is still considered one of the best 3-point shooters of all time. He was lauded for his natural ability to shoot 3’s. However, he reacted strongly to this. It cheapened and discounted all the time he spent practicing his shot. He goes onto respond to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan: “I’ve argued this with a lot of people in my life. When people say God blessed me with a beautiful jump shot, it really pisses me off. I tell those people, ‘Don’t undermine the work I’ve put in every day.’ Not some days. Every day. Ask anyone who has been on a team with me who shoots the most. Go back to Seattle and Milwaukee and ask them. The answer is me.”
I subscribe to Ericsson’s theory of “Deliberate Practice.” That while we can all accrue advantages both from nature AND nurture, the role of practice in improvement is key. While salespeople will generally enter the role with advantages – the key to improving and becoming a great salesperson is deliberate practice.