Sales are the lifeblood of every business and there is a strong link between sales and mindset; that is to say, having the correct mindset is essential to success in sales. While you can have excellent practical skills when it comes to product knowledge, and you may be excellent at sales strategy and engaging with the customer, if your mindset isn’t right, you will fail, that’s really the distinguishing feature between failure and success as a salesperson. While the fundamentals and core skills of selling are often a hot topic of conversation and include everything from understanding your product and knowing your customer to effective listening skills and understanding your sales process, what really makes the crucial difference – often called ‘the razor edge’ – The key message is that “the line which separates winning from losing is as fine as a razor’s edge…” Let’s first look at the term ‘mindset’ and establish how it relates to sales.

A mindset is a broad term that can be defined as a person’s view of the world or their attitude. Your attitude is the composite of your thoughts, your feelings, and your actions.  It’s your mindset, either good or bad, that controls your outcomes, and it’s your mindset that’s going to cause you to make those calls, take those actions, do the follow-ups, and have the confidence and grit to keep going. Once a customer catches on that a seller is only in it for the sale and doesn’t have the customer’s best interests at heart, trust goes out the door.  (and trust is the currency of the new economy – Rachel Botman – TEDTalk – 1.3 million views).

The only true difference between manipulating someone and persuading someone is intent and therefore you need to understand your ‘why’.  Your ‘why’ is heart-led, it’s about the emotion and passion behind your actions.  Why you do what you do. It’s a well-known fact that we are emotional beings and emotions drive our actions 95% of the time.

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KEY TAKEAWAY 

The only true difference between manipulating someone and persuading someone is intent and therefore you need to understand your ‘why’