I have considered learning more about sales for a while in the back of my mind, but two questions consistently held me back: 1) is it possible to be an honest salesman? and 2) what if I fail? The second question relates directly two what we’ve covered in class most recently through the idea of prospecting and managing failure. To fix and answer this question, a mind shift must be made.
For the longest time, I have feared failure because it reflects badly on myself and my performance at a given task. This fear made the thought of prospecting or door-to-door sales unbearable. Why would I annoy some random person and offer them my product. It is way more likely that they are annoyed and I fail as a result. However, understanding two key differences in perspective changed my view on this topic.
Firstly, I needed to separate the “real” me from the “role” me. If a prospecting call does not go well, that does not reflect on my character (unless I was rude and acted sinfully towards them). My self-worth and identity do not ride on my performance in a sales or academic context. Despite this, the role me does fail. However, this always reveals a learning opportunity in my sales process. If I take the time to learn from my mistakes, and do not assume that failure at a task equals moral failure, then prospecting is not too bad!
Secondly, prospecting can be a redemptive and helpful task. Of course there will be some, even many, people who do not want to talk to a salesman on the phone if called randomly. But on the other side of this coin, there are a few people who will be blessed greatly by your product and service. Prospecting is necessary for sales because there have to be people to buy your product. But more than this, prospecting lets you serve others by sacrificing your time and by being humble and patient.
These two perspective shifts changed my view of failure and prospecting!
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