Your Sales Methodology Is a Paramedic for Your Benefits | Traders Journal

“When you want to show off, it’s probably time to sell.” —John Neff

Investing in the stock market is really simple. There are only two choices: when to buy and when to sell. The unfortunate reality is that 75% of average investors really only want to hear about the buy side. So, those people can stop reading now. This blog is aimed at the remaining 25%.

First, let me tell you that relying on your gut feeling that something isn’t right is an unfortunate sales methodology. You should always be ready to pull the sell trigger, but you also need to know exactly what the catalyst is and why it happens.

As I write this blog, the S&P 500 is up 45% over the past 16 months. Re-read John Neff’s quote above. Because of the human nature of being an investor, we all want to focus on the buy side of things now. But that’s why I think it’s time to reexamine your sales methodology. So, think of the next few blogs as a refresher course on the sales side. This is an invitation for you to revisit the field of personal selling.

For the 75% of you who find this topic uninteresting or unnecessary, please read my post again. Traders Journal ‘Faceplant’ In my decades of teaching investors about investing, one tool I use consistently in the classroom and always receive very high praise from my students is the Action Sequence. I learned this technique from Dr. Hank Pruden at Golden Gate University and have been teaching it in seminars ever since. The approach is simple. I give investors charts and they put pencil to paper and analyze what’s in front of them, then group by group. within these parameters Traders Journal The blog definitely needs some tweaking.

But before you throw away the charts (which I will do next time), I want you to get the latest on sales. The easiest and quickest way is to give homework. Here it is. In our book Seal Trading: 10 Steps to Stock Market Mastery, the ninth step is Selling. Re-read Chapter 9 to better prepare for the action sequences. Sell ​​exercise in the future!

This reading assignment will be a good review of the private investor issues involved in selling your positions, the technical tools we will use, and the various components you may include when constructing your personal selling methodology. I can help you build it, but it has to be your personal methodology. Otherwise, you won’t have 100% confidence and you’ll be less likely to pull the selling trigger when the best time comes.

Remember, investing is like sports. You can have a huge winning streak, but if you neglect caution or discipline for a moment, you can quickly lose money or get back some of your profits. Consistency is important. Game plan is important. You’ll see how important it is to practice action sequences!

Have a good deal. Trade with discipline!

— Gattis Rose