The Sales Arena is No Place
to Get Your Emotional Needs Met
Are you trying to get your emotional needs met during a sales call? On the surface, most salespeople would say, "No." But the truth is quite different. Let's take a look.
To which of the following can you relate?
· You want to be liked as much as, or perhaps more than, you want to close the sale.
· You're not "assertive" enough with prospects.
· You link your self-worth to your sales success.
· You experience call reluctance, perhaps because of a fear of rejection.
· You find it difficult to deal with negative prospects.
To one degree or another all of these issues have to do with our concept of ourselves and our need for others to like us, be nice to us, or to make us feel OK.
If you want to make it to the top in sales, read this Sandler Sales Training concept, memorize it, and say it to yourself every day: Sales is no place to get my emotional needs met; the purpose of sales is to go to the bank.
This does not mean you can't love the sales profession and enjoy relationships with your clients. You can get your financial and professional needs met in sales - but NOT YOUR EMOTIONAL NEEDS.
Let's explore the "what" and "why" of our thinking in regards to emotions and sales. If you don't have someplace in your life where you know without a doubt you will receive unconditional love, then you will probably end up looking for love in all the wrong places. For many people, that wrong place is sales.
For example, if you grew up in a very critical, very demanding household and received no affirmation or display of unconditional love, then the result may be the following: weak self-concept, lousy self-image, a belief system that says being abused during a sales call is OK, a high need for somebody to like you, an inability to ask tough questions for fear of upsetting the prospect, and an overall failure to be politely assertive. Bottom line? You are unwittingly trying to get your emotional needs met during sales calls and are constantly riding an emotional rollercoaster. How much more effective could you be if you adjusted your belief systems and had a suit of armor to protect your self-image during a sales call?
If you ever suffer from any of these sales maladies, remember these rules to help you stay on task:
· Never become emotionally involved in a sales call.
· Selling is no place to get your emotional needs met.
· When prospects reject you, they're just saying no to your product.
· Having a lousy day in sales does not make you a lousy person.
· Don't confuse your self-image with your sales role success.
If you achieve tremendous success in sales, recognize that it's a great profession, but one that will put you back on that emotional roller coaster if you let it. Stay off that wild ride by leaving your emotions in the car during your sales calls. If you do that, you'll experience fewer heartaches and more trips to the bank!
I did a cold call - walk in to see a new LO. I let him know my intent was to introduce myself and say hello. He let me know that he used another title company and was very happy with them - gave me a few features and benefits of theirs. He then said "but you're here to tell me about you - so please tell me why I should use LandAmerica!". I said " well, that really wasn't my intent. I let him know that my intent was not to sell him - but simply to introduce myself. I said -" it seems like you are very happy where you're at and I don't want to pull you away from what's working" He said - well, just because that's who I've always used doesn't mean that they're the best out there - it just means I am comfortable with them - and that may not be the best thing for me! I went more negative and said - "well, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" He said -"that's true -but......maybe we can set up an appointment and see what you guys have." He immediately got out his calendar and asked for next Wednesday! I tried to get a "NO," but instead got an appointment!
Andrea Hyatt, LandAmerica Lawyers Title