The Three Sales Myths
There are plenty of predetermined myths or stereotypes in sales. One of the most well-known is the Myth of the Blockhead. The stereotype is that this salesperson is incompetent, but the reality is that it does not take a genius to make a sale. An intern I worked with over the summer never went to college but had worked in the roofing business as a repairman for over three years. He had become so engrossed in the work and fluent with it that our boss decided to move him to sales. The only issue was that he was very shy and kind of robotic in how he spoke with people. This was an easy fix, and we realized it only took trial and error for him to break from his shell.
The Myth of the Moneygrubber is that all salespeople are looking for money or are greedy for a sale. This stereotype is wrong for most successful salespeople. A great salesperson is focused and driven by an inner purpose and by solving problems. Their motivation is not just commission but also the impact of the product on the customer’s overall improvement. Addressing the fact that the customers’ return on investment is the most important outcome, and not their money.
The Myth of the Natural suggests that sales abilities are an innate trait that you are born with. This is not inherently true, as some people may be born confident, intelligent, and outgoing, while many have to learn to reach said status. Sales deals with both personality and skill set. Both are separate from each other and are mainly only seen in ambiverts. Ambiverts are those who excel in both listening and talking, while normally outperforming extroverts. All in all, while sales techniques can be natural, product knowledge and how the company sells requires studying, practicing, and discipline to become great. No salesperson is extremely successful without some hard work and dedication.