Many of the questions I get asked by salespeople tend to be “how to” or “technique” type questions. These questions are most often the wrong questions to be asking. Why?
Because only about twenty percent (20%) of sales success can be attributed to technique(s. Simply put, asking technique type questions focuses on the wrong end of the problem. That focus is one reason that most sales training doesn’t work. Selling is not about what you do. It is about who you are.
We have known for years that our belief system is far more important than any technique(s) we use. Belief has to do with belief about product, market, company, competition and, most importantly, belief about our self. According to psychologist Denis Waitely, who has been a psychologist for the US Olympic teams, “we don’t get what we want in life but we do get what we expect.”
Selling, like life, is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead of harping on how to, we should be asking ourselves why am I having these problems? What beliefs are getting in the way of my success? What self-limiting beliefs do I need to change? If this sounds a bit like therapy that’s because it is. To be truly successful in life we have to be honest with ourselves and be willing to change. Sadly, most people don’t have the guts to confront their own “head trash”.
There is a rule of human nature that says: “You can only perform in your role in sales or life in a manner that is consistent with how you see yourself conceptually.” What you visualize you materialize. That’s what Napoleon Hill wrote about in “Think and Grow Rich”. The key word being “Think”. Whatever circumstances you and I are experiencing at this moment are because of the way we think. And what we think is ultimately our own responsibility. We can’t blame the economy, the competition, our company, the industry, 9/11/01 or anything else for what we think.
If you would like a copy of the fifty-four self limiting beliefs that impact sales success, contact me and I will send it to you.
