Are you wearing a “sales hat?”

A couple weeks ago, I asked you to think about where you’re stuck in the sales process. 

I heard back from dozens of you — some sharing that finding clients is the most challenging part of the sales process, while others reported that sending proposals and following up is most often where deals get stuck. 

But what I heard more resoundingly than anything else was about mindset. More so than the tactical, the energetic seems to be what’s getting in the way of your sales success.

In discussing this more deeply with a few folks, what became apparent is that they felt they had to become someone else in the selling process. Somewhere along the way, they had been told that they had to be a certain way to be good at sales — supremely confident, fast-talking, and dogged about getting the sale.

In other words, they felt like they had to put their “sales hat” on whenever they interacted with a potential client and become a completely different person. Not only is this approach totally exhausting — it plain old doesn’t work!

What if we could get rid of this notion that we have to be a certain way to be successful with sales?

In my business, all of my clients take an assessment that reveals their top 5 strengths. The themes include characteristics like being analytical, strong with ideation, valuing connectedness, being disciplined, easily adaptable and more.  

Once my clients understand their top strengths, when they get stuck in the sales process, they can ask themselves,

“What strength can I lean into to get better results?”

It’s incredibly empowering because, rather than trying to embody characteristics that they don’t possess (or care to possess), they get to call upon their inherent talents and gifts to get better results — and feel more aligned while doing so.

For example, many of my clients have “empathy” as a top talent. Empathy is an incredible sales superpower that can be called upon in every step of the sales process, from client attraction to negotiating a close. 

Sticking with this example of empathy, let’s get tactical. If I’m having trouble getting in front of potential clients, I can lean into my empathy to craft better pitches to speak at events or to book discovery calls. If my proposals are getting lost after I send them, I can use my empathy to ask better questions about what might get in the way of the potential client moving forward.

For today, you don’t need to take a fancy assessment — rather, I want you to grab your journal and write down the answer to the following question:

“What would my best friend say are my top three strengths?”

Once you have those top three attributes jotted down, reflect upon how sales have been going for you, and free write on the following:

“How can I lean into my strengths to get a better result?”

Brainstorm how you can be more you in the sales process, bringing in your strengths to move clients through the sales process more efficiently and joyfully. 

Once you’re able to bring more of yourself into the sales process, you will find that the entire endeavor of selling will feel more natural and empowering. Give it a try and let me know how it goes in the comments.