A blog post from Tenured Professor Pat Altvater with AFP Marketing Group of Ohio
When you step into the role of
salesperson for your product or service it’s important to be detached from
the outcome. That comes from feeling confident that what you have to
offer provides a valuable service for your clients coupled with knowing, based
upon research you’ve conducted, that there are plenty of people that could
potentially buy your product/service. You don’t need a “yes” from any one
person in particular because ultimately you realize there will be enough sales
ultimately. When you are in that state of mind, you are detached from the
outcome.
Does that come easy for you? If not, you may have some
conditioned behaviors that are keeping you from being detached from the outcome
and easily making sales. In my book, Choose Success: Ignite the Power
Within, I discuss three mindsets
that I believe hold people back from achieving the outcomes they desire. One in particular, the perfectionist mindset,
comes from conditioned behaviors that impact a person’s ability to detach from
the outcome and easily make sales.
People who have a perfectionist
mindset believe that what they are doing is right, fail to take into
consideration others feelings and opinions, and usually come from a place of
fear and insecurity, although they would never admit that, right?!
A perfectionist works very hard
at seeming perfect, not making mistakes, and not failing, which usually means
attempting to control their environment and the other people in it. They
feel the need to prove themselves and compete with others, which keeps them
feeling separate, disconnected, and struggling.
When a perfectionist steps into
the role of salesperson for their product or service, they have a hard time
focusing on sharing not selling, on being detached from the outcome instead of
“winning” and on listening instead of talking.
So they exude an air of desperation instead of confidence.
If you have perfectionist mindset
tendencies, here are some ways to practice being detached from the outcome:
- Stay Mindful; whenever you are about to say something or act in a certain way, that may be coming from a perfectionist mindset, remind yourself that people are not $$$ but are potential relationships to be fostered
- Allow others to be heard; let those that disagree with your perspective have their own opinion, knowing that just because their point of view differs from yours, does not mean they are rejecting you. Don’t make the other person wrong, so you can be right!
- Listen; people who are trying to control a sales situation tend to talk, talk, talk and forget to listen! There’s an old saying “he who talks most, loses.”
Use these ideas to keep from
falling into old patterns of behaviors that don’t serve you when you are in the
role of selling your product or service. You’ll discover you will not
only increase your sales but have better long-term relationships as well.
