This Might Not Work
Earlier this week, I led a book club discussion for Women In Sales about Seth Godin's The Icarus Deception, which I consider to be a career-altering read for me. It changed the way I look at selling, as well as the trajectory of my life. That is not an overstatement.
The very next day, I presented to the members of Growth Forum about your #1 sales superpower, and how it fuels the Sales Success Cycle.
These two events on back-to-back days helped me make a connection I hadn't made before, and I wanted to share it with you here quickly.
Selling is an art form
The sooner you recognize this, the better you'll sell. I struggled with this concept when I first read Icarus a decade ago. I didn't see it. Then I started paying closer attention.
Selling is about connecting, and if you try to please everybody, you'll thrill nobody.
Art isn't just about painting or sculpting and making sure the project looks "right." Art is about expressing yourself in a way that's going to make an impact on somebody else. It's doing work that matters for people who care.
Breaking the cycle
I believe salespeople only want three things:
Do work they feel good about
Get recognized for it
Get paid for it
Our kryptonite is the idea that we might let someone down- our boss, customers, company, family, and ourselves. This paradox is exactly what makes us human, and the tension created causes us to hedge.
"What's the perfect thing to say here?"
"What's the best subject line for an email?"
"How do I sell without sounding like I'm trying to sell?"
Is there ever a perfect word or phrase to use? Is disconnecting from your intention ever a recipe for success?
All of this mental friction creates a cycle of doubt, mediocrity, and shame that prevents you from making real connections and doing your very best selling.
You have to break that cycle. You have to make the shift from shame to belief, and there's only one way to do that.
This might not work
Creating art is a vulnerable act. If selling is an art form, then we need to bring more vulnerability with us when we do it.
I don't just mean admitting you've made past mistakes or being transparent. I mean being willing to trust yourself and your instincts.
Most sellers intuitively feel what the right thing to do or say is, and they talk themselves out of it. They haven't seen others do it this way; there's no guarantee it'll work. They get scared, back off, and revert back to something safe.
You lack the belief they need to succeed, you hedge, and it kills your results.
I've done it. You've done it. Your close rates are very telling.
When you're vulnerable enough to trust yourself and believe in your instincts, it's almost as if magic happens. You connect better, feel better selling, have more fun, and the wins are much more fulfilling. But it's not magic because it happens so consistently. There's a direct and repeatable cause and effect.
Every top performer does this. It's the 5% difference between mediocrity and superstardom. You need to be willing to do it "wrong" if you ever want to do it really well.
"This might not work" is not a reason to hold back.
It's a battle cry.
