27 Oct From Resenting to Advocating Sales
A Conversation with a Friend on Why I’m Passionate About Sales
A former colleague of mine read my recent blogs and reached out of the blue.
Surprised by getting a call from an old friend, I picked up the phone happily…
After we exchanged pleasantries, laughed about some funny and memorable moments, and updated one another about what we have been doing lately, he inquired, rather ridiculed: “By the way, what happened to you lately?”
Since a lot of things happen in my life, I didn’t want to assume what he was interested to know about. I answered his question with another question of mine: “What do you mean?”
“You sound like a typical salesman in your writing.” He remarked with a lower voice, demonstrating concern for the reputation of his former colleague.
The moment he commented that I knew the main reason why he called 😊
In those good old days, when we were working together as tech professionals, we both hated selling and blatant letting everyone on the team knows our resentment. We demonstrated an adverse attitude whenever the topic surfaced or when we met a salesperson.
Now, you can see why he was surprised by my change of heart toward selling. He felt he had lost a comrade.
Laughing loud, “You’ve been living under a rock and away from social media for the past couple of years. You hadn’t read my ‘Salesy’ articles and blogs. Otherwise, you would have seen that I had been evolving and unapologetic of ‘selling’ my ideas, products, programs, and services to the right people.”
Curious, with a serious voice tonality, he interrupted: “What do you mean by ‘the right people’? I don’t get it!”
“Oh, these are my people.” My demeanor changed. I sat leaning forward on the sofa and was excited to talk further about my people, but…
My friend was impatient and interjected quickly: “Are you saying that there are people who aren’t yours? Are you somehow discriminating?!”
“Don’t get me wrong. I love all humanity and try my best to help as many people as possible. But I’m not naïve. I can’t serve all! Even if I try, there are people who will never allow me to do so. For whatever reason, they may not resonate with me.”
It seems my response cooled him down, and he found me fair. With a calm and gentle voice: “Anyways, who are your favorites?”
Glad I was given another opportunity to further talk about my ‘chosen ones’, “My target audiences are those individuals, teams, organizations, and communities that detest mediocrity, refuse to stay average, and those who aim at becoming world-class and great in what they do in their own unique ways by growing holistically. I’m called to serve these groups.”
My friend noticed and commented, “Now, I see why your tagline says, ‘Advocate for the A to Z of Holistic growth.’”
I gave him some context about my unique proposition and how I’m serving and continue to serve my chosen ones.
However, my colleague was still unconvinced why I persistently advocate my ideas, products, and services online.
“AZ, I understand your passion, and you have been consistent about it. But what I don’t understand is that you’re the CEO of your company. You should focus on producing content and leading the team, not selling!”
His caring was palpable.
After appreciating his concern, laughing loudly and jokingly: “It looks like you think selling is beneath me.”
My friend was quiet…
Without waiting for his response, I clarified: “Look, I understand where you’re coming from. Yes, I’m the CEO of the company. But I’m also the brand Ambassador. I can’t lead my marketing and salespeople if I don’t know how to sell. I’m a leader who rolls his sleeves and works with his team in the trenches. I lead by example.”
After clearing his voice, he insisted: “Of course, I understand why you should involve and lead the sales process. What I feel isn’t right is your overzealous sales approach, putting yourself at the front facing your prospects directly.”
Though he is making it an issue of protocol and division of labor, the root of his opposition comes from his mentality toward sales. I know my friend very well like he does know me well 😊
Therefore, I decided to confront the stumbling block heads on: “Is it possible that you’re not comfortable with me selling because you’re not comfortable selling? Is there any chance that you still have some reservations about salespeople?”
My previous questions worked! They triggered him. He did let himself loose and expressed his dislike of selling and salespeople.
I’m familiar with his positions concerning these resentments…
Rather than defending sales and salespeople, I asked a rhetorical question: “Don’t you think it is cowardly for someone not to sell passionately what they believe in regardless of their position in the organization?”
Without waiting for an answer, I continued: “Whether someone is the CEO or the Clerk, he/she won’t hesitate to sell if they’ve unwavering confidence in the ideas, products, and services of their company. For me, hesitation is a serious indication of someone who hasn’t yet been sold. How can someone sell to others unashamedly without first selling the ideas, products, and services to themselves?!”
My effort to build a strong business case for sales didn’t convince my friend. Since our talk, I’ve not seen any change either.
However, at the end of our conversation, he saw that my motive was genuine and healthy.
I hope I swayed you, too, if in case you hated sales.
Stop reading for a moment and reflect on the following questions…
- Can you be truly passionate about helping your target audience- the people you’re born to serve, and at the same time, be silent about helping them?
- Would you hesitate to talk about their aspirations, desires, goals, pain, frustrations, and problems and how you may help them?
- Can you really be reactive about sharing your ideas, products, services, and programs that could help them overcome the challenges and meet their goals?
I don’t think so…
Let me give you a simple example. Suppose you’re a doctor (or a nurse or a security guard in a hospital) and know for sure about a drug that can heal a certain disease. Would you be silent and shy away from letting the people who are suffering from this disease know that you (your hospital) understand their anguish and you (your hospital) have the remedy?
I’d rather be surprised if you were silent…
Of course, if you are silent, it tells me either:
- You are not confident with the drug, or
- You’re a pure psychopath who delights in the agony of others.
Anyways, let me stop here.
This is my hope that, like my former colleague, you have seen the shift I made from resenting sales and salespeople to advocating ‘healthy sales.’
You may wonder why I qualified sales by stating ‘Healthy sales’.
It’s simple!
As you’ve already noticed, there are toxic sales.
By the way, I hate devious salespeople who are preoccupied with the commission they earn alone. I abhor unethical salespeople who manipulate, pressure, and take advantage of their prospects.
Let me ask you. From 1 to 10, 1 being I hate sales and 10 I love it, where do you find yourself? Why?
If you scored below 5, I encourage you to click here and read another recent blog I wrote entitled “Translating Your Dreams into Realities Faster: How to Sell Your Ideas, Products, & Services with Unshakable Confidence without Sounding like a Typical Salesperson.”
If you have any interest in taking your and your team’s sales competencies to the next level, reach out to our Team at [email protected] We are here to help.