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The Lead - Are You Convinced?

If you've worked a few sales jobs, you know that some products/services are easier to sell than others. There are exciting and innovative things to sell. There are boring and necessary things. Simple and clear, complex and expensive.

There was a time for me where I pursued opportunities based on what I would be selling. I wanted to put myself in the best position to be successful and ultimately make money. I'd imagine some of you have done that too, with varying results.

This post isn't about finding the best sales job, selling the best thing. Today I want to talk about the clarity and conviction you have around what you offer. It's an important topic, because it will drive everything you do.

Let's start with clarity. When you take on a new role in sales, getting up to speed is important. However long your training period is, it's time you aren't selling. Some organizations are thoughtful and deliberate about training for sales people. Most aren't. You've heard the expression, "fake it til you make it".

Now sure, over time you will gain knowledge and confidence that allows you to do your job better. But the longer that takes, the more you will fumble through sales conversations and see poor results. You'll get lucky, you might even have success but not to the degree you'd really like.

The reality is, you need foundational clarity about who you're selling to, the problem they have, and how you solve it. The speed at which you know and understand these things determines how quickly you can ramp in your role. Not saying anything revolutionary here.

Clarity is ultimately followed by conviction. This is where I want to dig in.

If I was to call you today and express interest in your product or service, I'm sure you could rattle off a decent pitch. If you're someone who takes what I write to heart, then you'll probably ask me some good questions to get me talking about the problem I'm looking to solve. All good things here.

We get to the end of this imaginary scenario, and I say to you, "This all sounds good but let me think on it". Sound familiar? Maybe I hit you with "You know, I'm interested but it just seems expensive." Or the "I'll get back to you next week".

What you say and do next would tell me a lot. Now to be clear, I'm all for giving people time to think. If you know me, you know I'm not the pushy sales guy. But, I've noticed that the way a sales person approaches this type of conversation, and what follows can be very telling.

Lack of conviction rears it's ugly head in these moments. Not making the effort to confirm a clear next step. Not asking more questions to understand decision criteria. Not sending a conversation recap. Even not actually following up! I hate to tell you, but I see this all the time.

I consider these types of missteps to be a lack of conviction, because if sales people really believed in what they sold, would we be willing to just throw up our hands? Would we be so careless in our conversations?

When conviction is lacking, it's easy to be passive. Why? Because our words and actions aren't shaped by belief that what we do actually makes a difference.There can almost be an imposter syndrome, we aren't sure what we have to offer can actually fix this person's problem. We don't want to look bad.

Obviously, if you have a legitimate reason to believe that the product/service you sell or company you work for can't deliver, then you should not be deceptive. False confidence around this is probably more like straight up lying. Maybe consider finding a new job.

But I suspect that's not typically the case. I think more often than not, a lack of conviction stems from a lack of clarity. Have you really taken the time to understand your prospect? Do you know what their life is like? Do you truly empathize with the challenges they're up against?

Conviction also carries over into how we view our own job performance. If you're so self-focused, the slumps hit harder because it's all about you. If you're able to take a step back and consider how you're able to help people, that's motivation to keep your head up and keep going.

I want to make another point around something I commonly hear in the PM industry - "My BDM isn't a hunter" or "My BDM doesn't want to do outbound". Again, it may be possible that your sales person doesn't possess certain traits or have that drive.

Before you write them off, or accept that they'll never do something, consider whether they are in terms of clarity and conviction. I'll say this as it relates to outbound - it's hard. It requires persistence. If you lack the clarity and conviction, it's easy to to avoid altogether. It's easy to quit on.

You don't need to possess belief as if you are selling a magic pill that cures all illness. I get it. I'm not asking you to paint a picture of your product or service as if y'all deserve a Nobel Prize. But if you can't find a way to truly believe what you do can help someone, you either need to rethink how you view sales, or find a new job.

Final thoughts:

Clarity + Conviction:

-The work I'm doing is meaningful because I am helping people.

-I want to take the time to understand my prospect in an effort to better serve them.

-I'm driven to be excellent at what I do because that allows me to solve problems and create excellent outcomes.

Lack of Clarity + Conviction:

-Sales conversations are about me, and getting the information I need.

-I don't want to bother my prospects because they might get annoyed with me.

-If someone decides not to move forward with us, it's because there's something wrong with our product/service, or they "just don't get it".

Hopefully the statements that resonate with you are in the first camp. If it's more the latter, it's ok. I've been there. Don't stay there though. Start with clarity and find your conviction.