I have spoken to many businesspeople who insist they don’t do sales. They’ll tell me that they hate sales and are terrible at selling. And yet, when I look objectively at their roles, it’s clear to me that they are, in fact, in sales.
They may have the title of CEO, Vice President, Account Manager, or Customer Success Manager. None of those roles specifically include “sales” in the job title, but each is expected to help win new accounts or grow existing accounts. No matter how you slice it and dice it, part of these jobs 一 often the most critical part 一 involves convincing someone to do something.
So, let’s address two issues here:
- Why are so many people resistant to being in sales?
- What does “sales” mean anyway?
Why Do Salespeople Get Such a Bad Reputation?
There seems to be a highly negative image of a salesperson. Many of us have a stereotypical image of a salesperson.
Consider the slippery car salesperson you’ll have to haggle with for hours or the cheesy infomercial pitchman who notoriously exclaims, “But wait, there’s more!”
It makes sense that a person who views themselves as honest and straightforward will have a psychological block when identifying as a salesperson. There’s some serious cognitive dissonance going on here.
Cognitive dissonance occurs when there’s a mental conflict happening, when a previously held belief differs from what the person is now being told. To that end, it makes sense that the VP of a software company who knows he’s a good guy will feel conflicted when he’s told his job includes sales. No way is he in sales 一 everyone knows that salespeople lie, cheat, and steal every day.
And that dissonance occurs even though his job involves meeting with prospective clients. Even though he’s expected to make pitches, craft proposals, or negotiate pricing.
That explains why there’s so much resistance to believing it. But the reality is that many of us are salespeople.
YOU Are a Salesperson
If you’re in a client-facing role, a pre-sales position, or even function in a customer support capacity, then YOU influence whether or not someone will buy from your company.
If you’re a business owner, you certainly are in sales.
Even if you have an administrative role, there is some sales functionality baked into the position.
But it’s broader than that. Sales isn’t just about interacting with prospective buyers. It’s also “selling” the company to prospective employees so they’ll come on board, and to current employees so they’ll stay with the company and remain motivated and productive.
That means anyone in recruiting, management, or HR is also in sales.
Now that you know many people are in sales positions, it’s time to get a healthy mindset about what “sales” means, more importantly, what sales should be.
Abandoning Outdated Beliefs About Sales
Before getting into what sales should look like, let’s consider what it should not look like.
- Sales shouldn’t mean manipulating people into purchasing things they will regret.
- Sales doesn’t mean dumping junk on those who don’t need it, like the proverbial selling “ice to the Eskimos” or “sand to the Saudis.”
- Sales is not warfare. You’re not fighting for customers, crushing the competition, or killing your leads.
- And finally, sales is not a sporting event. You’re not trying to go for the gold, get a slam dunk, hit a home run, or take home a trophy.
So What is Sales in the Modern Era?
Explaining how to do sales would take an entire series (and maybe one that I’ll write about someday). But at its basic level, sales done right comes down to the skill of listening. As Dale Carnegie famously said, “To be interesting, be interested.”
Sales is about asking the right questions and listening actively and intently to determine the prospect’s needs. If their need fits what you have, sales means showing that connection.
Ideally, sales are a win-win. The buyer gets what they want, and you get the deal. But this can only happen if you’re willing to listen.
Active Listening
The stereotypical salesperson doesn’t listen. When the other person is talking, they wait impatiently for them to finish. At best, they think about what they will retort.
But you can practice active listening, and in doing so, you’ll learn a lot about who you’re selling to and how to create that win-win offer… which is what you need to do sales!
Listening is a skill. Some people are naturally good at it, but it can also be learned. Here’s a powerful example of active listening:
It’s not enough to hear what’s being said. Instead, in sales, it’s important that the other person feels that you’ve understood what they’ve said.
This is a skill that can be practiced by using the following framework in any sales conversation:
- Acknowledge what you heard the other person say
- Confirm you understand the person’s needs
- Clarify your understanding of their needs
That’s the first step toward a sale 一 you know what they need; now you can assess whether what you’ve got will fill that need. Taking this approach shows the person on the other side of the table that you “get” their needs, and you’re not just trying to sell whatever you have.
Navigating Roadblocks
Of course, once you’ve listened and discovered that a sale is possible, the listening isn’t done.
As you’ve probably encountered, no matter what role you play in sales, many sales processes hit roadblocks.
The person you’re talking to might initially sound excited but suddenly gets cold feet and say, “I’ll let you know if we decide to proceed.”
Sometimes, the sale might seem like a done deal, but the person on the other side of the conversation brings a third party into the mix.
Even worse is when your prospective customer suddenly goes ghost on you, leaving you to wonder what happened.
When any of these scenarios happen, the salesperson (hopefully, by now, you’ve accepted that you’re part of this category) often starts to guess what went wrong.
- My price was probably too high
- I know which competitor they chose
- It was stupid to call that many times
Right? Wrong? The bottom line is that you don’t know. The only way to find out is to ask and then listen humbly once again until the issue becomes clear. Only then can you address the problem directly. Here, again, it comes down to listening.
Embrace Your Sales Role
Accept that you’re in a sales role, regardless of your official title. When you do, you’ll be better equipped to approach each conversation with an active listening ear, just as you would if you were conversing with a friend. Here’s how to use active listening in sales:
The more you practice active listening, the more likely you are to hear the real challenges of your prospective and current customers 一 and to and meet those challenges head-on.
Use this at every stage of the sales process, and you’ll leave your prospects, employees, or potential partners feeling like you truly understand their needs. That understanding will build trust, ultimately allowing you to offer a win-win for you and them.
