“I hate sales.”
That statement has probably spewed from my mouth more times than Lindsay Lohan has been on the cover of a gossip magazine!
The ironic thing about this statement is that it still applies, even after nearly three years of involvement with The Ruby Group – Sandler Sales Training.
So, why is that?
My revenue doubled in my first year with Sandler. I’m looking at a 100 percent increase in revenue compared to this time last year, with expectations for that to continue through the rest of the year, meaning another doubling year over year.
And, I’ll tell anyone who’s willing to listen that it has EVERYTHING to do with Sandler.
So, how can I still say, “I hate sales?”
Because I don’t consider it “sales” anymore.
Here’s what “sales” used to look like for me (in my mind at least):
• “I don’t want to be a bother, so I won’t make that phone call.”
• “What if they don’t want what I’m selling?”
• “I have to do a proposal; it what they asked for.”
• “I can’t charge that much.”
• “If someone needs my services, they’ll find me.”
All those thoughts came from the basic belief that I was trying to push my services on people, whether they wanted or needed it. I honestly believed that we did great work, but it felt like I was there just to “sell” them something.
What changed my life was this:
“I’m not here to sell you anything. I’m here to find out if what we do can help remove your ‘pain’ or solve your problem.”
For me, THIS is what was missing. So, now I don’t look at it as “sales;” I see it as helping people.
I still hate sales in the traditional sense of the word. But, what I love is helping – and what I’ve found is that when you’re there to sell, people put up walls, barriers, fronts, etc. But, when you’re there to help, they open up and allow you to understand their situation and you can both decide whether or not there’s a fit.
Thank you to Matt White for sharing. Matt is the owner of JoltCMS where he helps businesses help their customers.
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