"Curing" the Reluctant Prospector

How old are you now - 25? 32? 47? 65? It doesn't really matter; I'll assume that if you're reading a blog about selling, you're old enough. Old enough for what? Well, to know WHO you are, WHAT you like to do, WHERE you like to do it, and HOW often, right?

In other words, you are who you are and you'll probably not change all that much. Agreed?

I read a lot of sales training material - not just real estate sales training; stuff by other gurus as well. What I often see is how the gurus advise the less-than-bold salespeople need to "get over their fear" or "stop wasting time on pretty brochures" or "suck it up and do it" (whatever "it" is that the salesperson doesn't want to do).

Now, this annoys me. Why? Because it assumes that there is only one personality or approach that will work when one is trying to find customers and then persuade them to part with their hard-ea
ed money. That if you don't do it "this way" you'll fail miserably. And I don't believe that.

I think that if you're great at creating fabulous brochures, that's part of your personality and you're far better off finding a way to harness that energy in your sales efforts. If you suck at networking events, there's no reason to torture yourself by attending - but I'll bet there's something else you would enjoy which would allow your natural wonderful-ness to shine through. If you cringe at the thought of begging your friends for referrals (on the first Monday of every week), then it's perfectly fine not to do it - and to use that natural reluctance to pester to your advantage.

You don't have to become someone you aren't... someone you don't recognize... someone you don't even like much to succeed in a sales career. In fact, you'll sell a lot more once you abandon the notion that you have to change, and work on capitalizing on the gifts and talents God gave you.

There is a natural salesperson in there... but it's probably NOT that person you read about in the last "How To Sell" book you bought!