4. the sales job
The function of the job is simple enough.
Research.
Put prospects into a sequence.
Commence a series of emails, cold calls, and social selling, using info garnered from each touch point to come correct.
While on the surface, the job is simple, the complexities are layered.
Time management: which activities create the best seller over time?
Personalization: takes delicate stalker grit, but when does personalization intrude on efficiency?
Understanding: industry/personal/persona triggers and pains takes studying, a tall task for someone who never considered how businesses ran pre-2023.
Objection handling: when does no equal: no, maybe, yes?
This last one is probably the most difficult aspect of sales considering my first instinct used to be: aight, thanks, sorry to bother you, never see you again.
Life's motto has always been, you give respect, you get respect. If someone doesn’t want to talk, you give them their damn space.
But then, it’s a catch 22. Because how does anything get sold? And for the most part, the people I target are sales people as well. So, how do they sell?
First, through a minor invasion of space, no?
Having to retrain myself to deal with no’s as opportunities to learn more information has been a struggle, but anything can be accomplished through incremental change. Work for one “no”. Okay, now work for two “no’s”. Okay, now shoot three shots per call. Now, work on the quality of each shot. Open ended questions. Curiosity. Show value.
Take it a step further. You’re not here to sell. You’re here to help.
Take it one step even further. Detach from the outcome.
Because sometimes, doesn’t matter what you say or do. To sell, it takes two. There needs to be true alignment. However, persistence is a muscle that can be developed over time through repetition. The main thing is that you have to have faith that what you put in is what you get out of the process.
Because hesitancy is what destroys. That inner critic that shocks you with paralysis, leaving you open to attack. Same goes for kickboxing. You can prepare all you want with a fight camp, but when you’re in the ring and someone is trying to take your head off, thinking will get you slept. Fearing a counter if you throw will get you slept.
So, when it comes down to it, the job appears to be about finding flow. If my past experiences learning different crafts holds true for sales, the flow state is best fostered when you emphasize process over result. Each day, you work to improve your process by 1 percent and over time, the rest will be what it is.
Success. Failure. Prepared for both.
But a ninja goes up and down swinging.
Yours truly,
RIP Ninja
Slanging AI since October 2023
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