I never cease to marvel at the ludicrous way the entertainment industry depicts sales professionals. In the movies and television, if a character is in sales, invariably that character is either sleazy, stupid or slutty (or a combination of all three.) And in almost every plot, the character is “successful” in a financial sense but eventually revealed to be, in fact, a sad loser.
What’s so strange about that depiction is that, in my experience, the exact opposite is the case. Almost every highly successful sales professional that I’ve ever met is also successful in other areas of their life. This is because being really successful at sales requires you to become both extremely self-aware of your own abilities, limitations and emotions, and supremely aware of these same essential qualities in other people.
Selling is compensated at a higher rate than other professions because it’s more difficult. Mastering the technical information about products and services is the easy part. It’s damned difficult to refocus, recenter, and get into a positive state for the eleventh cold call after the previous ten have gone poorly. It takes vast patience and perseverence to understand, and sympathize with, the problems that a customer is having, and then come up with a solution that will work.
At various times the successful sales rep must act as a psychologist, a fortuneteller, a management consultant, a technology analyst, a colleague, a public speaker, an outsourcing manager, and even a design engineer. And do all of this without pretense and a willingness to know when to ask for help. And this must all be done inside a general culture where most people (thanks to the media) believe that sales professionals are, well, less than professional.
Only individuals with a strong sense of self and empathy for others can hope thrive doing such a difficult job inside such a hostile general culture. And those qualities are what makes a life richer, because they bring you closer to the ones you love, and give you a deeper understanding of the world. I’m completely serious about this. Learning to sell can be, and should be, a life-changing experience.
Those of you who have been in sales, and are successful at it, know exactly what I’m talking about. Those of you who are just beginning in sales, or thinking about getting into sales, know that you are on the threshold of a magnificent and fascinating journey. If you are willing to work hard, and evolve your character to the point where you can sell at the highest level, you will have all the mental tools you need to live a happier life.
Next post, I’ll share how learning to sell changed my life.
