I spent the end of this July at adult ski camp. Yes, I said “adult” ski camp, frickin’ cool uh? It’s my second year doing it. It’s a  blast! We spend 6 days skiing moguls (or park and free style if you prefer that instead) learning from the best coaches in the world. This years coaches included Phillippe Marquis, 9th place finisher in moguls at the Sochi Olympics and James “Woodsy” Woods who finished 5th in slope style in Sochi. The coaches at this camp are absolutely sick.

ASG representing on the glacier!

Each day we take three lifts and a bus to get to the snow, which is a glacier a top Blackcomb Mountain. On the first day we are paired with skiers of the same skill and level, usually 4 – 6 to a group. The smaller groups make for killer individual attention. Each day looks very similar, starting with stretches, then some easy runs and drills on the flats and then runs down the moguls. Each and every run our coach for the day (the coaches rotate every day, so we get a different one each day of the week) provides feedback on our skiing. They watch us and evaluate what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. The feedback is unreal.

At the end of each day there is a video session. We sit with the coach as he goes through our skiing on video in slow motion pointing out the most obvious and the most subtle issues with our skiing. It’s amazing.

Here’s the deal. Every time I go, this is my second year, I learn something new about my skiing. This year, it was my absorption, timing (same as last year) and my angulation. I don’t angulate enough, therefore my hips come across the mountain too much. This doesn’t set me up for the next mogul and causes me to extend my feet and get them away from my body. This then causes me to hit the mogul too hard and not be in a position to absorb correctly. My timing is too early. I absorb too early and don’t hold it long enough, therefore initiating my turn too early. This causes me to be in the wrong position as well and puts me in the back seat. Once I’m in the back seat I lose control of my skis and begin to accelerate too fast. If you ski moguls, there is nothing scarier then losing control in the moguls and going too fast.

Me and my boy Kenny. I’m sportin’ the smiley faces and ASG swag!

I ski moguls well. I can ski any mogul run on any mountain. I ski what’s called a zipper line. I ski them better than 98% of all skiers. But, no matter how well I ski them, every year I go back to Momentum Ski Camp, I learn how much I don’t know and can’t do. And this is the lesson of this post.

No matter how good a sales person you are, you can always learn more if you’re willing to. What do you know about your selling? Where are you weak? What deficiencies do you have? How does your selling affect your ability to close the deal, get to the next yes, to craft a solution or create a solid deal strategy? Are you aware of your selling strengths and weaknesses?

Getting good at something takes practice. It’s a life long journey. No matter how good you get, you can always get better.