Are you in a ‘Sales’ role? Actually it is a trick question because, if you are in the business world in any capacity, you are also in sales… But I digress.
Sales is a simple thing often complicated by over thinking the process interjected with trying too hard. Sales is also a relationship thing. People buy from people not companies.
What do I mean by over-complicating the sales process? Simple. We may analyze a prospect, methodology, or market to a point where we are paralyzed by the process. There is no coincidence that the word analyze also contains the word ‘anal.’
What do I mean by ‘trying too hard’? Often when we exert too much pressure on ourselves, we end up being unnatural or unauthentic in our approach. ‘Needing’ the next sale in order to hit targets or get a much needed commission, will cause most sales people to do and say things that are not natural for us; and, guess what, they come across as unauthentic and the buyer sees that. In the world of professional sports, when a key goal scorer is not scoring, the pressure to deliver gets so intense that coaches will often say that the player is: “Holding the stick too tight.” It is the same thing as saying: “The player is trying too hard.” In sales, holding the stick too tight (or being desperate for the deal), always ends up in the sales person coming across as desperate. The buyer will be turned off by the pressure that the sales person is inadvertently putting on them.
When I go through a dry spell in terms of sales, I have now learned that I actually have to consciously tell myself to get back to the basics and follow my own advice…
