Choosing the Infections that Make Up Your Sales Mindset

The sales pundit who tells you that there is no way to create value for your dream clients, that they prefer instead to buy without any help from a salesperson, has infected you with their belief, if you accept that statement as being true.

The prognosticator who prematurely shouts that salespeople are going to lose jobs by the millions in the next few years has also installed a virus in your operating system, if you believe this is to be a fact and act on it.

When someone puts forth the idea that one generation is not recognizable to previous generations and will not fall eventually into the patterns of the dominant culture they are a part of, they are sharing an opinion that doesn’t jive with the lessons of history.

The idea that everything is going to collapse into being a simple transaction, regardless of industry, regardless of business, regardless of strategy, and regardless of any other fact is infecting you with their belief, even when this idea isn’t true.

There are other beliefs, healthier beliefs, with which you might decide to be infected.

You could choose to believe that you have the ability and the responsibility to create value for your dream clients, deciding that you can help them make better decisions because of what you know and how much you care.

You can decide that while some sales jobs will disappear far into the future, that it won’t be yours. You might also look at the research and see for yourself that there is a massive shortage of salespeople now, and that it’s third on the list.

You might also recognize that people of all generations share far more in common than their few differences. You can study history and realize that deep human needs don’t dominate behavior, even buying behaviors. Meet the new boss . . .

Markets are changing, but they are not collapsing into being purely transactional. They are splitting into two different strategies. You can do as well in one as the other. You can choose to believe that you can choose to go the other direction and succeed.

Some beliefs speak to your fears. These beliefs disempower you. Other beliefs speak to the better part of you, the part of you that is drive, purpose, and meaning. You can choose what you allow yourself to be infected with. Choose thoughtfully and carefully.