Beliefs are the bedrock of what we do in sales and more broadly in life. When it comes to sales, the number one thing that will improve results for most people is this: Build healthy beliefs about what sales is. My clients who create healthy beliefs about the act of selling and then act on those beliefs, enjoy closing new business regularly.

If you remember in the introduction and chapter one of How Good Humans Sell™, I shared my research that most sales professionals have negative opinions about their own work. If we don’t work to identify those for what they are, our business suffers.

Here is a question I posed to my Come and Go Coaching group to get them thinking about their negative beliefs about sales.  

How does it “serve” us to make sales bad?

Here are some of their answers (anonymous of course!):

• If sales is bad and I don’t do it, that makes me a good person.

• Avoiding selling keeps me feeling like I’m good.

• It's an excuse to not do it. Then we have a reason for not being as good as we could be.

• If I don't do it, then I can't do a bad job and reinforce my negative beliefs.

• We don't have to feel like a failure if we don't close the sale. Self sabotaging.

• I don’t want to put myself in a position where I don't know what to say.

• I get to stay comfortable.

• I’m as busy as I need to be so I don’t have to sell proactively.

• I get to fit in with my peers.

• If I practice and get better, then I’ll be wrong and I want to be right.

Ask yourself this question and see if it helps you uncover what needs to shift in your thinking to help you reach your sales goals.

P.S. I am through this relationship about beliefs and sales success in the Tuesday Tips part of my podcast, Conversations With Good Humans, over the next several weeks. Subscribe and follow where you like to listen to podcasts so you don’t miss an episode.