Your sales demons are resistant to whatever sales training or enablement programs your company has thrown at you. Your sales demons don’t respond to your manager’s “go get ‘em” team talks.
You know where your sales demons reside. You know what they do to your efforts to become a Businessperson of Worth.
Your sales demons live in the back of your brain and inject a constant stream of “No you can’t” or “You are too ____” into your tactical and strategic activities.
It’s time to acknowledge those demons are there. It’s time for you to face them.
Sales demons are your own self-doubt. They wreak havoc on your self-confidence.
Your sales demons say that you aren’t qualified for that promotion to sales director, because you didn’t finish your college program. Turn and face your sales demon. Finish your education. Online. Whichever way you can. You know what you have to do.
Your sales demons tell you that you aren’t smart enough to sell to doctors or engineers. That’s why you avoid prospecting these folks, who desperately need your real-world business acumen. You mentally assume the fetal position the minute these M.D. and PhD types start throwing around huge scientific words. Look, their excessive professional vocabulary is their problem too: many colleagues don’t understand what they are saying either. Being the smartest person in the room doesn’t necessarily translate into being the most practical or communicative.
Your sales demons tell you that you are never going to transition from your role as a technical IT wizard to becoming a top-notch sales engineer. Those younger IT guys and gals are finding it easier to keep up with the latest technology advances. You are defining a narrower and more specific niche for yourself each day. You need to move on to your next chapter and need coaching and direction on how to become a Businessperson of Worth.
You are the CEO of your small manufacturing business or technical startup. You sub-contract out your selling activities because you eschew getting your hands dirty with that activity. Since when was having conversations with your customers dirty work? There’s an art form involved in having conversations with prospects, investors and customers that even they didn’t know they wanted to have with you.
You have a constant track record of coming in at 92% of quota, with 100% customer retention. To your manager, that means you never make your numbers. To my way of thinking, there’s a huge difference between constantly hitting 60% of quota and constantly performing in the 90th percentile. You have nagging doubts that playing “I’m thinking of a sales quota number” has gotten stale, very stale. You are better than that, but how to break away from the mold?
You know you are capable of becoming a Businessperson of Worth. However, you can’t move forward until you understand – and face – what is holding you back.
It’s time for us to face your sales demons. Together. Name them. Understand them.
What are yours?
Babette N. Ten Haken, President of Sales Aerobics for Engineers®, LLC, is a management consultant and business coach. Babette develops business, technical and engineering professionals of worth. She remodels startups and small-to-medium manufacturing and service companies experiencing difficulty with unpredictable revenue streams. A recognized Top 50 Marketing & Sales Influencer, Babette’s blog won the 2014 Bronze Medal, Top Sales & Marketing Awards, Top Sales World.
Ready to start facing what’s holding you back? Babette’s book on communication and collaboration strategies and tools, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon.com.
Leave a Reply