A New Normal in Sales

A newly hired executive sat in on a sales call as part of his onboarding.

He said, “This customer was very forthcoming. Far beyond normal. They told us everything. Pain. Cost of doing nothing. Their exact list of decision criteria. Budget. Process.”

The call was recorded and we reviewed it with the sales team.

The new team member thought he experienced an unusually forthcoming buyer because he had never experienced a sales conversation in which a buyer was so open.

However, as we reviewed the call, his teammates pointed out that it wasn’t a good call because the buyer was forthcoming beyond normal.

It was good because the salesperson who led the call was skilled beyond “normal.”

I asked the new executive if he thought it might be the process that changed the result rather than an easy buyer.

He said, “I’d have to see more than one!”

Same belief → same process → same results

He is not alone. Our egos support incorrect beliefs.

We are all using a process today. The current process is perfectly designed to create the results we get today.

It’s hard to admit the problem might be us.

Once we swallow that bitter pill, and update our belief, we can also change our normal.

Updated beliefs → a better process → a new “normal.”

#CreateYourNormal

Steve Kraner is NOT a natural salesman. He describes himself as an engineer who crossed over to the dark side. A military officer by training, Steve found himself leading a sales team as a start-up. He had to sell to survive.

This sales tip originally appeared on?The Software Sales Guru's website.