The Reason Being in Sales Sucks That Nobody Talks About
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Sales seems very “fluffy” to those that don’t know better
We’ve talked plenty already about how Sales is about building relationships. It’s about empathy. It’s about understanding your customers and forging a bond with them.
At first glance, this seems very “fluffy”. It seems like the opposite of stressful. Salespeople just show. Up and take clients to coffee once a month or so. What’s so bad about that?
I’m going to tell you what’s wrong with that!
The problem is that sometimes, the client is not interested. Sometimes the client doesn’t return your calls. Sometimes, the client straight tells you to go fuck yourself. And by sometimes, I mean all the fucking time.
It is easy to take it personally when a sale goes south
For non-salespeople, if the client is upset or annoyed, they are upset with the service you are providing or the product you have sold them. It is easy for salespeople to take this a little more personally.
Salespeople, to a certain extent, are part of the package that they are selling. We often say that people buy from people. This means that in any sales situation, customers make a decision to buy or not to buy based on their interaction with the people in that sales process. However, we usually add one bit to it.
“People buy from people, and they buy from people they like”
We are sure you can appreciate the truth behind this simple statement.
Examine your own buying behavior to increase your empathy
Think about the last time you had an interaction with a salesperson and ended up buying something…
- Was that person likable?
- What did you like about the salesperson?
- What did you enjoy about that buying experience?
- Would you go back and buy again?
If you keep thinking about your past experiences of being sold to, you will realize that not only are you more likely to buy from a salesperson you like, you also enjoy the whole buying experience much more. Having a favorite salesperson makes you look forward to the next time you get to give this person your money!
Now, knowing everything that we just discussed about sales success being closely related to the salespersons likeability, and it is easy to see why salespeople can take it so personally when a deal is lost. They are not just working hard, they are putting a big piece of their selves, their souls, into their work… And so there is a lot on the line.
Show some appreciation to your favorite salesperson
And so now we see why Sales is so scary. Sales is essentially getting paid to repeatedly endure personal rejection. Just as the physical cost of working in construction is high, the psychological cost of carrying a quota can also be high.
For you salespeople, account managers, business development managers, growth hackers, or whatever your titles have, I want to let you know… I salute you and recognize you for this. It’s a tough business and I encourage you to spend at least as much money on therapy as you do on alcohol.
For those of us non-sales people out there, I implore you to please… give your friendly neighborhood sales team a break. They’ve got a lot going on, so sometimes we need to just give them a break…. sometimes….
OH yeah…. and also, if salespeople lose a deal, they don’t make money and become homeless… so there is that, too…
Serial Entrepreneur Renato is the co-founder of Nimdzi Insights and co-owner of MultiLLingual Media LLC. He has extensive experience in international consulting, market research, sales and marketing, Renato provides the strategic direction to help his clients with what they care about most: growth.