Human capital is increasingly important to organisational performance, and the investment we make in people matters. As a coach, you often see things that people may not yet recognise in themselves. Sometimes I encourage people to start a coaching journey before they actually feel they need one. Why wait until there is a problem before you start developing the capacity to deal with it?

It is the same with relationships. You build relationships before you need them. You build trust before you need it. You develop yourself before the pressure arrives. In that sense, sales is a prevention profession. You cannot wait until you need the relationship to start building it. You cannot reap if you have not sown. The knowledge is already there. The question is whether we are prepared to do the work before we need the results. Preparation is not something you do when the pressure arrives. Preparation is what allows you to meet the pressure when it does.