Break All the Rules – 3 Sales Secrets That Rewrite the Short Playbook for Selling Success
Sandy Cerami
ACADEMY365: THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY FOR REAL, ACTUAL PEOPLE ∥ Sales, Biz Dev & Leadership Expert ∥ Creator of The 3STEP SELLING & 7PILLARS Platforms ∥ Host: Icons, Innovators & Inspirations ∥ Former GM Dealer
?? It’s Time to Break the Rules and Rewrite Your Path to Sales Success! ??
Think back to the “rules” your parents taught you—well-meaning advice designed to keep you safe, polite, and predictable. But here’s the truth: in sales, those same rules can hold you back. If you’re serious about leveling up, it’s time to challenge the norms, break the mold, and rethink everything you thought you knew about success.
The best salespeople—the ones crushing quotas and building relationships that last—don’t just follow the rules. They make their own.
Let’s break down 3 childhood “rules” that smart salespeople have flipped on their heads—and how you can, too.
1. Risk Failure: The Key to Learning and Growth
What They Told You: “Don’t take risks—you might fail!” Why It’s Wrong: Playing it safe is the fastest route to mediocrity. Growth doesn’t happen inside your comfort zone. It’s the failures, the stumbles, and the setbacks that sharpen your skills and teach you the lessons that lead to big wins.
?? Quick Take: You gotta develop an appetite for getting your ass kicked early and from time-to-time. It's kinda like eating sh!t, we all have to deal with that in some form. It’s the willingness to try, fail, and learn that separates winners from everyone else.”
?? Actionable Insight:
2. Talk to Strangers: Conversations = Opportunity
What They Told You: “Don’t talk to strangers—it’s dangerous!” Why It’s Wrong: Every client, partner, and advocate you’ll ever work with started as someone you didn’t know. Strangers aren’t threats—they’re opportunities waiting to happen.
?? Quick Take: The more you talk to people, the more you learn about them, their business, their market, their opportunities or their problems, and how to solve for them. Strangers hold the keys to the growth in our business.
?? Actionable Insight:
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3. Self-Promote with Purpose: Share Value, Not Arrogance
What They Told You: “Don’t brag—it’s rude!”
Why It’s Only Half True: Self-promotion should never be about arrogance, because arrogance is a hallmark of weakness and a lack of genuine confidence.
Smart self-promotion is more about positioning yourself as the industry's Most Trusted Resource or the go-to expert who can solve problems. If people don’t know who you are or what you offer, they can’t buy from you.
?? Quick Take: Valuable content is your leverage. If you’re not posting, you’re invisible. And if you’re invisible, you’re irrelevant. Share insights, experience and expertise generously. The investment yield is infinite!
?? Actionable Insight:
Why Breaking the Rules Works
If you sell anything, success comes down to this: Your ability to connect with people, deliver value, and adapt faster than the competition. Breaking the old rules isn’t about rebellion—it’s about rethinking what’s possible and stepping into a new mindset.
? Risk Failure: Failure is the foundation of growth. ? Talk to Strangers: Conversations are where opportunities are born. ? Self-Promote: If you don’t tell your story, someone else will—and they’ll probably get it wrong.
What’s Next?
?? Let’s hear from you: What’s one rule you’ve broken in sales that changed everything for you? Comment below...
?? PS: If you’re serious about rewriting your sales playbook, check out sandycerami.com/academy365 today. It’s designed to help you gain knowledge, share experiences with a dedicated community of like-minded people seeking to level up.
VP of Sales | Intelligent Solutions | Founder, DCfinsrv | Board Member Support
1 个月The insights shared in this article are a powerful reminder of the importance of challenging conventional wisdom in sales. Embracing risk, engaging with new connections, and promoting oneself with purpose are essential steps toward transformative success. What rules have you broken that led to your growth? Let’s inspire each other by sharing our experiences.
follow-up
1 个月Break The Rules : When rules are wrong they should be broken. Especially when there’s PROOF they are wrong. I maintain the 90% “Lost Opportunities” is colossally WRONG. But it is universally accepted that the “ONLY” 3 reasons for deals to fail are “man / money / machine”. 20 Years ago my customer was late for her in-showroom - 5 ??- birthday delivery to remember forever event. The sale failed for none of the “3 M words” …. she died. My GM — gave me the wisdom to save every deal — because none were ever as difficult to fix as that one. I developed a “No Lose Any Deal Ever Again” confidence. My GM said : “Find another customer” — so simple to say but so hard to do.But fortunately as a BDC Director I learned how to do exactly that to save EVERY deal ?? And each salesperson gets to experience my follow-up / save process for real in real-time. I even follow-up the CLOSER ! And just imagine when my results are multiplied by those I instruct ?? — game-changing. The technique isn’t a simple “A-to-B” or everyone would do it — but the results are far too important to deny. 90% of opportunities FAIL ! “BreakThe Rules” doesn’t work if they don’t put me in the game — to win the game. To become the #1 store.
Serial Entrepreneur and Independent Sales Agent
1 个月One of Dick Marcinko’s (started Seal Team Six) first operational rules. Is. “Break the Rules Before They Break You”
Love it! "You must serve before you sell", that hits home...its SO true. I would add; "Curiosity" - totally agree!! Hopefully your value is conveyed through the questions you ask and then contributions you make in return which proves you were listening. Now you have created trust, a new client and maybe a future friend. If you feel you are tricking someone into "signing" you have lost the war as they won't be a repeat customer, nor will they refer you to their friends. Talking to strangers is definitely one of my top pastimes.