In today’s edition, we explore why so many people think they can’t sell. Why they put barriers in their own mind and tell themselves they can’t when in reality they can if they take the action they need to. Let’s get to it.
I attended an event a few weeks ago and did a presentation with a group of finance professionals. People who need to build relationships and who want to grow a book of business. They wanted to know HOW to become better at Business Development, but so many of them talked themselves down as we went through the session.
It got me thinking.
I studied sociology for an A Level (I didn’t do that well and got a D!), but I always remember my teacher, Mrs Koravilus, talking to us about a concept that has fascinated me as I grew older.
That subject was Nature or Nurture.
The concept (as I remember it) was simple. Are people born the way they are, or do they become nurtured and developed to reach their full potential?
The numbers were 25% to 75% either side, and depending on which side of the fence you sat on, you either thought people had 25% natural talent, and the remaining 75% was gained as they grew older or vice versa.
I don’t doubt that there are some exceptions to the rule (such as Tiger Woods and Ronnie O’Sullivan, who were both born with their special talents), but my view has always been nurture rather than nature.
What has this got to do with becoming successful at Sales you may ask?
It’s important because a key myth that people have regarding sales is what it takes to become a successful sales person.
If I had been given a pound for every time I have heard these words then well I would be a very rich man!
- “James, I am not a natural talker like you”
- “I don’t have the gift of the gab”
- “I can’t sell ice to Eskimos like you can”
- “I am not as extroverted as you are”
- “I don’t have the confidence to sell like you do”
- “You make sales sound so easy, I can’t do that”
The list could go on and on. So many people give up before they even start because they think that to be successful at sales you have to be born with some form of natural sales talent. Whilst I don’t dispute the fact that I have been helped from an early age (as my father was in sales), it is a myth to think you won’t be good at sales just because you’re not a natural at it or don’t find it easy.
I am shit at DIY. I mean, really shit. I am to DIY what King Herod was to babysitting, and there is a reason for that. It’s not because I could never be any good. It’s because I have chosen not to be. If I really wanted to become an expert, then I could.
How?
I could study, go to college, learn the skills and then practice daily until I became good. Yes, I would make mistakes and yes, I would have to make some sacrifices in other areas, but could I become an expert at DIY or better than what I am now? Yes, 10000%
Sales is the same. Thinking that you’re not an expert at sales or that you don’t have natural talent assumes that all salespeople are extroverted talkers and presenters. They are not.
- The very best salespeople talk less and listen more.
- The very best understand people.
- The very best ask questions and show real interest in the other person
- The very best salespeople are problem solvers.
We all have a choice in the skills and knowledge that we learn. A research study shows that anyone can become a world expert in anything if they practice it for 7 years. Yep, that’s right, you could become a Lion Tamer if you spent the next 7 years practising to become one!
Want to become a world expert in playing the Trumpet? You can. Just commit the next 7 years of your life to doing it, and I guarantee you, at the end of it, you will be able to play as Louis Armstrong did!
You may need to make some sacrifices to become the best, but if it’s your goal, then it can be achieved.
So many people who have to sell are beaten before they start when it comes to sales. They give me a list of excuses and reasons why they don’t have the natural talent to become experts at sales, and this in turn affects everything in their life that means so much to them.
They give themselves stress and problems by not winning enough business, and yet the route to solving these issues is not to think you can’t, but to start looking at how you can!
Selling is a skill and talent that can be learned. If you are determined to become a success (either in your role or with the business you have), then you need to let go of these feelings that you’re not a natural and it can’t be done.
Sales is not this dark art that only some unique people in the world are born with the ability to do. Everyone, and I mean everyone, can become brilliant at selling if they want to. They can learn new skills, adjust behaviours, improve knowledge and become experts if it means enough to them.
I guess my question to you is, ‘Do you want it enough? ’
Learning to sell effectively and learning to understand people are not just skills that can help you win new business and provide for your family. It’s a skill that can help you in so many other areas of life. It allows you to have better relationships with family and friends, get deals with shops and providers and get more people to agree with your way of thinking.
Yes, some people will have better skills than others, but giving up before you start is a myth. You can become brilliant at selling if you learn, apply what you learn and build a mindset which says ‘I will rather than I can’t.
Make a conscious decision to spend time listening to podcasts (here is mine if that helps), watching videos (here are 700 for free), attending webinars, buying courses (here are 3 you can invest in), and most importantly, implement what you learn.
- Pick one new skill to learn
- Find out about it or invest to learn it
- Put 30 minutes in your diary every day to implement what you have learned. Stick to this. Don’t give up. In tough moments, remember why you started this and why this skill was a key one to learn.
It will be hard to start with, but in time (if you continue to do it), it will become easier. Continue to tell yourself that you will master this, and soon enough, you’ll reprogram the big computer in your head to believe you can and then achieve it.
So stop believing in false myths and things which aren’t true.
It’s a myth that you can’t become a good salesperson as you weren’t born that way.
You can.
