Sales is not Magic: Understanding the Discipline of a Sales Connoisseur – Part 1
Author: Gary Whitehill
I’ve seen a lot of posts lately about sales, with many questions revolving around how to make the perfect sales pitch in either a B2C or B2B context. Based on my prior experience, I felt it’d be relevant to now throw my two cents into the bucket with a series of posts on the topic.
Background
Most people don’t know I worked as a high-end salon shoe salesman for 1.5yrs at Nordstrom earlier this decade before moving to NYC. Starting out, I was way behind the average salesperson in terms of their learning curve:
- I had never sold anything in my life
- I knew nothing about salon shoes (Weitzman, Ferragamo, Paul Green, etc)
- When I was hired, I actually had to ask my mother, “What is a salon shoe?”
- I had no idea salon shoe salesman were the most aggressive pool of sharks there could be in any sales context – period
In spite of those shortcomings, I ended up doing very well over the course of my tenure at the company- I sold more than $625K in shoes within that short span- unprecedented as a first year salesman at the company. By the way, this was as a 20 year old college student, taking an 18 credit course load, and holding a 3.85 GPA in 3 separate majors.
Why is Selling So Hard?
For most, selling a product or service in either a B2C or B2B context is just too tough of a job. There’s a lengthy sales process, numerous challenges in getting to a decision maker, long hours, etc. As a result, a cultish following has ensued around those who claim to have the keys/tricks/etc for how to sell.
Many believe top sellers (regardless of vertical) hold some sort of magical black book, and that it’s this which makes their numbers skyrocket 60%-200% above their next closest counterpart. Guess what?
Just like anything else in sales- it’s simply a numbers game. But what many do in fact fail to realize is the top sellers encompass two vital qualities which ultimately lead to their profound successes:
- They are confident and unequivocally believe in themselves and their process
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They are optimization freaks
It’s crucial to understand, in the world of a top salesperson- every single movement, word, phrase, close toward the sale and follow-up is optimally scripted for a sale (both in the long and short-term). Confidence in themselves, in their process, and in understanding what must be optimized are the crucial levers which determine the viability and scalability of a salesperson’s Rolodex.
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