The Parable of the Tinsmith

Unjustly imprisoned, a tinsmith was allowed to receive a rug woven by his wife. He prostrated himself upon the rug day after day to say his prayers, and after some time he said to his jailers: 'I am poor and without hope, and you are wretchedly paid. But I am a tinsmith. Bring me tin and tools and I shall make small artifacts which you can sell in the market, and we will both benefit.'

"The guards agreed to this, and presently the tinsmith and they were both makng a profit, from which they bought food and comforts for themselves.

"Then, one day, when the guards went to the cell, the door was open, and he was gone.

"Many years later, when this man's innocence had been established, the man who had imprisoned him asked him how he had escaped, what magic he had used. He said:

"'It is a matter of design, and design within design. My wife is a weaver. She found the man who had made the locks of the cell door, and got the design from him. This she wove into the carpet, at the spot where my head touched in prayer five times a day. I am a metal-worker, and this design looked to me like the inside of a lock. I designed the plan of the artificats to obtain the materials to make the key -- and I escaped.'

This is a well known sufi parable and one that I use when I am explaining why we use psychometric profiling. Often our understanding of ourselves in there for us to see....we need to open our awareness

Psychometric Profiling and Sales

Often we use psychometric profiling to recruit and develop salespeople.

I am often asked as to why we do this.

We all have a basic temperament, this is set at birth, in essence it is a key component of who we are and how we are in the world.

Different temperament styles often suit different selling situations.

Our temperament can impact on our ability to close, hunt for new business and build relationships.

I have for 18 years now specialised in using the McQuaig system, a Canadian profile.

The McQuaig has allowed me to match the right salesperson to the right role.

In addition the McQuaig has also allowed me to develop these people into star performers.

Never fear learning more about yourself.

Welcome to the Sales Community

I have been developing sales teams for over 20 years now.

In that time I have had the great pleasure to coach and learn from some excellent salespeople.

The objective of this blog is to share some of that learning with a wider community.

In addition also to share some of my insights into sales.

My background is wide and diverse, from electrical engineering to psychology.

I blend all these skills into my work with salespeople.