If you ask in a room full of entrepreneurs and self-employed people who are 'real sellers', only a few raise their hands. This may be disgust or shame. We almost unanimously dislike the smooth, manipulative type we associate with this.
Which makes it almost embarrassing to profile yourself as a real seller. And yet we do all of them every day in sales, both business and private. Moreover, it is an absolute necessity, because sales are the driving force behind every commercial company.
What is it that makes acquisition so unloved? I believe this is not the activity yourself, but especially to us statue of it. Very soon, the cheeky bell puller or drab door knocker hits our retina.
No, we don't see ourselves that way. Entrepreneurs are often substantive experts or business strategists who do not recognize themselves in the prototype fast salesman.
And luckily so, because at Sales from your Heart we dispel the myth of 'the sales tiger'. That is a dying breed.
We know that from experience everybody can successfully sell. As long as you stay true to yourself. And that means to us: no techniques, no theories, no structures. What often goes wrong is that we have one role take. As soon as we know that there is a commercial interest, we change into 'the account manager'. In this role we no longer act from ourselves, but from what we think 'the account manager' should do. We call it the sales harness. We hide two things behind that harness: our authenticity and our ambition. And those are just the two things that your greatest commercial strength is in!
So make real contact from person to person. Show the person behind the professional. Then your conversations will be more fun, easier, more personal and more successful.
Hiske Gude
PS To learn more about the Sales from your Heart philosophy and concrete handles, email us richard@d-tailconsultants.nl or buy the Sales from your Heart book from April 2017.