subject: How To Develop The Best Sales Mindset [print this page] There is a specific mindset that a person needs to develop in order to embody the best sales mindset. Having the right mindset gives you a structure on which to stand. The right sales mindset is like the foundation of a house. If you have a solid foundation the floor may creak, the house may shift and settle; but it will stay standing in a storm. The house with a poor foundation, no matter how thick the walls, will eventually fall. Far better to deal with creaky floors than no floors at all. Unfortunately, most people find themselves in a sales position without having the proper sales mindset.
The benefits of a strong sales mindset are numerous. Most importantly is a subtle shift in perspective, which provides a meaningful change in results. The average sales professional sees his own profession in a negative light. He hears the media grumbling about some unscrupulous group of people who called themselves sales people and instead were no better than common thieves. The average sales person does not have the proper mindset in which they know the truth about the sales profession. Once the average sales person takes on the proper sales mindset, his or her confidence increases dramatically from the understanding that you truly make a positive difference in the world.
The word SALES in fact originally meant "to serve"... such a striking difference from today's popular opinion of a sales person. Still this is the proper mindset to adopt. From my consulting and training I have uncovered the useful fact that the best sales people believe with all of their hearts that they aren't selling anything. They actually believe that they are solving people's problems. If a prospect doesn't have a problem that needs to be solved then the best sales professionals, after wishing the person a good day, move on to the next person. The most successful sales people have an absolute passion for solving problems. They truly want to help people achieve their desired state and be rid of the problems that are plaguing them.
The question I had, of course, was how could I achieve this mindset in myself and in others? What I realized is this mindset is already ingrained in all of us. Throughout human cultures people feel good when they are helping other people. The answer was to stop fighting this natural mindset and embrace it instead. I let go of the feeling that I had to sell everyone I met on my product or service and instead sell it to the people who needed and wanted my help. A good product or service does not sell itself. However, a sales person, who genuinely wants to help another person, makes it seem so effortless it's as if the product or service sells itself.
To develop the sales mindset is to decide that you are a world-class problem solver. Deciding that you are a problem solver allows you to believe in your good nature and fundamental helpfulness in spite of a prospect's resistance. In fact, when a prospect does have resistance, by believing that you are solving problems, you will continue to persuade knowing that your message is true and valuable.
That re-framing of the model by which I sold, going from a pushy hard sell to a consultative approach, made all of the difference in my sales and persuasion skills. In one job I even realized I didn't believe in the service enough to keep selling. I had to change jobs to sell a service that I truly believed in. It was by changing my belief that I was able to release the limits on myself that were holding me back.
I now make a profit helping people and I am proud of that fact. When I first started selling, the part of me that wanted to make lots of money and the part of me that wanted to help people were separate. By switching my mindset to the correct sales mindset, I realized that the two concepts were actually one and the same.
