What It Means to Be in Sales
My love-hate relationship with a profession… I enjoy.
Working in sales full-time is not easy.
- You get sick a lot — Some clients are out to pay you nothing.
- You get punched in the belly a lot — Objections are everywhere.
- You get enticed by the promise of the next big deal — But… it never comes.
I kid you not.
Such things happen to me daily.
In fact, I am mentally done by 4 p.m. after 3 client meetings. They almost always appear promising, and then throw curveballs I’ve learned to catch, and torture me by asking for unlimited freebies and discounts, and then…
… and then…
They say no deal.
Experienced Sales Professionals Know 1 Thing
I love hanging out with those who,
- Have been in the sales trenches for years and years,
- Met thousands of prospects and clients,
- Identify a trap before they get baited.
Sales is one profound profession. Experience means something.
I used to have a consulting sales senior manager as my mentor. Let’s call him James. This guy is darn cool. Sober too.
He always says this to me.
“Aldric, there is no sale until the client signs the contract. The black ink must meet the dotted line.”
I remember thinking what rubbish when I first heard it.
“Of course! Is that not obvious? Why do I need an experienced person to tell me that? Teach me something useful!”
That, I believe, is the scream in my head.
I wasn’t impressed. But I was not ready to execute a career-ending move. I nodded my head, smiled, and endorsed the coaching note.
Years have passed.
I must confess.
James is right.
The black ink must meet the dotted line.
Without that happening, everything is up in the air. There is no boat anchor for future discussion. My counterpart and I dip our toes in an imaginary cocktail mix of endless value propositions with no money in the bank.
“You cannot bank commitment, promises, freebies, endless value for nothing in exchange for your commission. No. To sell is to sell. Always remember that.”
I do.
James added one more intelligent soundbite.
“It takes more effort to keep a low-budget cheap client than a high-ticket client. They will never hold you and your work in high regard when they buy you on the cheap.”
Wow.
Now, that is big thinking.
We Confuse Ourselves by Giving Things Away
You know what I am referring to.
- Freebies.
- Free services.
- Endless product demos.
- Discounts.
- Support.
I know you must have given millions of things away for free. Why? Because we are trained to deliver value.
Whatever that means eludes me.
Value is like beauty. It is not what we think that matters. What they think… matters.
And therein lies a trap. This trap is as big as the Black Hole at the center of the sales discussion.
Ready for it? Here goes.
Many sales folks I know believe in giving away things for free. To them, it means the prospect or client will eventually buy something.
But the million-dollar question remains.
When is eventually coming? No idea.
We lower our bar of entry. We believe that onboarding them means it is easier to renew their contract and upsell when the time comes. Not true.
Ever heard of client dropouts?
You may disagree with my position.
Sales is more of an art than science, you say.
I hear you. But allow me to ask one straightforward question…
Have You Been a Customer?
I am sure you have.
Me too.
And this is the thing. We think we are the King of the World. We want all the good stuff for free. Or we engage in endless value bait.
- “Give me x if I buy 2 of y.”
- “I want a 30% discount. If not, I walk away.”
- “I only have $100 as my budget. I can buy your stuff for $100 (when it costs $300).”
- “How can you expect me to buy something when I haven’t even tried it? Any free samples?”
We do that.
All. The. Time.
We must study our own behavior. It provides ample insights into the difficulty of sales work.
I meet many pain-in-my-ass clients daily. These days, I no longer bother negotiating.
I do not,
- When they want a free software trial for months without end.
- When they ask for a 30% discount when they pick up the lowest of the lowest product offerings.
- When they request a 10 professional service days package but only have a budget for 4.
And what do I do?
I walk away.
I have been burned too many times. Clients make a tough bargain. I concede. And then I find myself working extra hard to keep them.
That is because they think (rightly or wrongly) that I need them to survive.
No, I don’t. Not when the contract value is low. I get a near-nothing commission.
With time, I get demotivated. And then, James’s coaching note would ring loud in my head.
“It takes more effort to keep a low-budget cheap client than a high-ticket client. They will never hold you and your work in high regard when they buy you on the cheap.”
He is right on the money.
The Close
So, what does it mean to be in sales?
Simply put,
- Plenty of tough days,
- Working to get the black ink on the dotted line,
- Meeting thousands and thousands of low-budget cheapskate clients,
- Bartering, negotiating, going in, and walking away from deals that make sense or no cents.
Are you up for it?
If so… welcome to my world.
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