Sales in the Madness of Paradigms

2024.06.05.

Salespeople Are Born, Not Made. Or Are They? I’ve always enjoyed selling, though I wouldn’t consider myself a good salesperson. I see myself more as an authentic, reliable guy who pays attention to the problems my partner faces and tries to find solutions. If I have a solution and I’d like to work with the other person, I’ll offer one. If I don’t, I say goodbye. But I don’t want to sell. And as a salesperson, that’s not exactly an advantage. I just want the other person to want to buy from me. Oh, and money isn’t important. (At this point, a few readers probably laughed, but I’ve written about this before, so check it out.)

I’ve been mentoring business leaders for a year and a half now. Sales is always a central topic: Would you do it? Do you know someone who would? How can it be done without having to do it? How can I automate it? I’ve tried, but it’s not working; the whole thing is so awkward!

Somehow, sales isn’t exactly popular. I started thinking about what’s behind this and what could be done about it. Because maybe we can agree that someone has to sell. If the company is small, there aren’t many people to choose from.

So, this isn’t rocket science at first glance: people’s attitude towards sales largely depends on their personality traits and psychological disposition. Of course, what else? For example, for someone like me, who enjoys sales, it’s an exciting, challenging activity, while for many of my mentees, it’s uncomfortable and stressful.

Of course, sales are stressful. But how can it not be?

The first step in this whole process is for us, as business leaders, to recognize our own relationship with sales, and then to think about where it comes from. What could I like about it? What could it give me, what am I afraid of?

Confidence, positive self-esteem, and belief in the product or service we offer significantly contribute to success in sales. I think this is one of the keys to my success: I only offer something I believe in, something I’m convinced will help. That’s why I mentored for free for a year because I didn’t know what value it brought to the other person... Today, I believe I can help, so I charge for it. (So, is money important to me, or not? I’ll write more about this later...)

Sales require direct contact with customers unless you’re running a fully automated system. Even then, you’re still connected with them, just through different channels. What does it take to connect with customers? Well, it helps if you don’t hate people, if you like talking, and if you’re curious. That’s why extroverted people often feel more comfortable in this role, as they naturally communicate and connect with others. Yeah, that sounds good at first, but here I am: I like talking, I connect easily in a group, I’m interested in everything, but... But I don’t like approaching others just like that, I prefer if they come to me. So, I have to do something about this. Maybe I’ll write a blog, and if you like it, you’ll reach out to me...

I’ve read in several places that those who enjoy sales are often motivated by the thrill of success and achieving goals. The desire for competition and rewards can be a strong motivational factor. There might be something to this. I’ve always wanted to have a big company, many employees, and perhaps even more importantly: to be bigger than the company next door. No way that poor guy could be better than me. I’m going to show them. (This sounds pretty intense when I read it now, but I definitely had a phase like this.)

On the other hand, those who don’t like sales often avoid it because of the fear of failure and the desire to avoid uncomfortable situations. I hear this a lot: I’m not going to push anything on anyone, it’s embarrassing if they say no, I’m not going to waste anyone’s time with this, it’s not for me, blah blah blah... I believe you if you say so, it must be true.

BUT...

Especially for a startup, it’s crucial that at least one of the founders enjoys and is capable of selling. Sales are one of the most important activities in a company’s life, particularly in the early stages. (A good product sells itself... really?). When a new business starts, its first and foremost goal is to generate revenue. Without revenue, there’s no operation, growth, or development. And I don’t think it’s worth relying on investments or grants.

If you’re so good that your sales happen on their own, because why not, sales are still important. Sales activities are not just about generating revenue. The founder who personally handles sales gets direct contact with customers. This gives you the opportunity to deeply understand customers’ needs, problems, and feedback. Such direct experience can help in refining and developing the product or service, as the founder gathers the necessary information firsthand. I remember how important this was to me in the early days of Games for Business. When we developed the first working system, I approached a bunch of potential customers. I didn’t want to sell anything; I just asked for their opinions. And the ideas came in, everyone felt good, we incorporated the ideas, thanked them, and then sold the product afterward.

Relationships

So, during sales, we can build valuable business relationships. These relationships can be beneficial not only in the short term but also bring significant advantages in the long term. And I’d like to emphasize the word relationship. Not a contract, not a letter of intent, paper, and seal, or a lawyer. Relationship, in the simplest and purest sense of the word. A good relationship with initial customers, suppliers, or even competitors can build a network that forms the foundation for future growth. I still have a good relationship with several competing company leaders, though we’re not competitors anymore 😊 I’ve learned a lot from them, I’ve learned a lot from local business leaders, people in completely different industries. But I’ve also learned a lot from my former neighbor, who was an electrician. Now, he really knew how to connect with his clients. They liked him. I always paid attention when he told stories about his one-man business over a beer, how he handled difficult situations with his clients. Everyone struggles in their own way... My neighbor loved his work, and even if it wasn’t always easy with them, he respected his clients.

From my own experiences, I know that a founder who loves their work, their company’s products, or services, can speak about them authentically and convincingly. This passion is contagious. Just like how vibrations pass from one tuning fork to another – provided they’re on the same frequency, and for that, you need mutual respect. This belief and respect create a connection, increase customers’ trust and commitment, which can lead to stable revenue and growth.

I’d Do It, But I Just Can’t!

Okay, I believe you. But what happens if none of the founders in the company like or know how to sell (and of course, these are related)? It doesn’t need much explanation; this brings a sense of vulnerability and can pose serious risks to the company. Because if you have little money invested at the start, you can’t really hire a good salesperson. If you don’t like selling, there won’t be more money in the system. If you don’t sell, it’s harder to find investors, so there won’t be money for a salesperson either. No revenue, no grants, especially nowadays.

If you want to hire an external salesperson, they’ll likely start selling according to their interests, not yours. Where will you find someone who doesn’t need a fixed salary and is willing to take a risk to make your company’s product successful without being an owner? Would you do that for someone else? Or would you give them equity until they prove it works in the hope that it will?

If there’s no sales, there’s no customer. If there’s no customer, who’s using your product? If no one, how do you develop it? For yourself? That’s how you’ve done it so far, but if you don’t have customers, how do you know if anyone even needs it?

Ah, let’s solve this somehow.

The world of sales is exciting and full of challenges, and not everyone feels comfortable in this role. Allegedly, people who like selling often have special personality traits that make this activity easier for them. (Really?) On the other hand, there are those who feel less comfortable in sales situations, and this is often due to their personality (Now, that’s for sure!).

But who likes and who doesn’t like selling?

Once, I had a business partner who was an IT guy and an economist. He said it was easy for me. I just spent the whole day drinking coffee with clients. Damn, he was right! So, drink coffee, and the sales will go. Just be able to drink 6-8 cups a day. Otherwise, you’ll have a heart attack. But if you want a big company, with lots of people, lots of clients, it’s coming anyway, so whatever, drink up.

Like so many things, sales are also a matter of approach. Naturally, there are certain skills that are necessary, as I mentioned earlier: relationship-building skills, good communication, good appearance, reliability, credibility, persistence, resilience, optimism, structured thinking, consistency, a good network, relationship-building skills, good communication, good appearance, reliability, credibility... Jesus, this is terrible.

There are many ways to sell. It’s like a role-playing game: you have your stats, your skills, and we look for the strategy that best suits them. But you have to get to the point where you want to find it.

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The article was translated from Hungarian to English by ChatGPT. Thank you, ChatGPT, for being here.