The Sales Archaeologist

That probably sounds like an easy question to you - closing time is perhaps the top answer. But in reality it is not the resistance but the way that resistance is handled that will make the difference between a yes and a no. Does that change anything? Most prospects are going to resist naturally, they feel compelled to bargain or negotiate and they want to put their suppliers and vendors through the ringer. We cannot get upset with people for that, it simply is how things are in the market.

We deal with resistance all the time – not just as we attempt to get CEO’s to change what they are doing with their sales organization. We also encounter it as we try to help sales people.

When a sales rep first reads his evaluation we experience push back and resistance. It isn’t accurate, it isn’t them, something is off, they don’t like the verbiage and they find it insulting or any number of other adjectives. But, as I start to work with those folks my faith in the assessment only increases. Quite often their very behavior at that time or certainly during training is proof of what the assessment says about them. 

There is always one or two reps that show up with a bad attitude, want to complain and be difficult and like to use the training session to not only complain about the assessment or the training but everything else they can think of as well. It is a real shame that while some reps are growing and learning the malcontents often miss those benefits as they resist.

So here is my question – how effective can any sales person be for any company selling any product or service when the resistance starts with them? The prospect will provide plenty on their own, they don’t need any help and yet reps like this give them a head start. The real enemy is inside their head and with that kind of baggage any opportunity is at risk, even before a prospect is involved. The resistance that really kills any deal starts with you and with your own negative affirmations. Change that and start changing outcomes.