Fred Astaire is, perhaps, the most famous dancer in film history. As has been pointed out by many, Ginger Rogers, his partner, did the same dances backwards and in high heels. But she’s usually known as his partner, not vice versa.

That’s because Fred led. As unfair as that may be, the person who leads gets the credit.

Are you leading? Are you taking proactive approaches with your clients? Are you suggesting directions for your prospects during initial meetings? Are you contributing intellectual property to the profession? Are you helping to coach and mentor others?

Trying new steps

If you want to be a stand out in sales, you have to lead. I’ve never been a fan of derivative approaches. (Once Chicken Soup for the Soul was a big hit, suddenly everyone had the “idea” for Turkey Consommé for Your Pet as the next big thing.) I know it’s “conventional wisdom” to look to the leaders to find techniques to emulate, but no one ever hit record levels by being a great follower.

You need to constantly try new steps, because by the time you’ve come close to replicating what someone else has already done, well, they’ve already moved on. You can’t be a leader by constantly “catching up.”

When I first began using value based pricing, most people in consulting told me it wouldn’t work, and that they could make more by hourly billing (!) which simply make me more determined to make it work. When I refused to spend time with human resources and training people, others said that we really can’t afford to alienate anyone, which made me more focused on bypassing these non-buyers.

I don’t think you should be concerned about dancing amid the crowd and not making any errors. I think you should be moving to the beat that you, alone, hear. You want to draw attention, to be a standout in the crowd.

You do this by being a leader. I’ve seen people who pioneered reaching out to prospects on the web; in free seminars; with original books; through global alliances; through systematic and discipline pursuit of referrals; and by maximizing their profile through press releases. Others naturally turn to them and buyers flock to them.

You don’t have to be the sole dancer—Astaire had plenty of competition. You don’t even have to be the only good one. Gene Kelly was magnificent. But you have to be willing to take chances and keep at it until it’s second nature.

Making it look easy

One thing about Astaire, he made it look effortless. There were countless rehearsals, many “retakes,” and some flubs, but he usually made it look effortless and natural.

I understand that women don’t lead when they dance, which is why I use this only as metaphor. Either gender can lead in this profession. (My point with Ginger Rogers is that she might have worked harder and even performed better, but she wasn’t perceived as leading.) If you’re perceived as the leader, people will want to do business with you, to listen to you, to merely be around you.

I’m not at all sure what the phrase du jour, “thought leadership,” means, since we’ve always prized innovators and new knowledge and creative people. I do know that it’s important to be a leader in our field if we seek to excel in our field. You don’t get there by merely following, you get there by forging new paths and new techniques. So stop trying so hard to master “three dimensional selling” or “introspective strategizing,” or the “whirligig technique,” as good as they all may be.

Start creating your own method to engage buyers, reach consensus, produce proposals, and close on the business. If society, technology, and the economy are changing for frequently and profoundly, why shouldn’t professional sales techniques? Can you afford to just keep getting better and better at the older and older?

I want the doctor who has pioneered the procedure, the professor who found new sources, the pilot who invented the bad weather landing approach. If I have my choice, I want the originator, the leader, the person who makes it look easy.

Before you tell me you can’t be this leader, at least tell me you’ve tried.

© Alan Weiss 2008 All rights reserved.

Alan Weiss, Ph.D. probably has the strongest independent consulting brand in the country, and maybe beyond. He is the author of 26 books appearing in 8 languages. He runs the unique Million Dollar Consulting® College three times a year. He has won dozens of writing and consulting awards and is a member of the Professional Speaking Hall of Fame.® Contact him at http:www.summitconsulting.com, or his blog, http://www.contrarianconsulting.com.