ARE YOU A SERVICE CLERK OR A SALES PERSON???
The speaker compares learning sales to learning to drive, arguing that following natural instincts in sales makes you act like a service clerk rather than an effective salesperson. They emphasize that successful selling requires working against intuitive responses and learning specific techniques from more effective salespeople.
Summary
The speaker uses the analogy of learning to drive, where beginners instinctively use both feet (one on gas, one on brake) despite this being incorrect, to illustrate a fundamental problem in sales training. They argue that following natural instincts in sales leads people to behave like service clerks rather than effective salespeople, resulting in losses to more competitive and skilled representatives. Despite being nice and creating positive interactions, this instinctual approach is fundamentally flawed and ineffective. The speaker reflects on their own experience teaching sales, noting that students would only adopt parts of effective techniques that felt natural while ignoring or diluting the rest with their service-oriented mindset. They conclude that becoming great at sales requires first understanding the principles and reasoning behind effective techniques, actively questioning why successful salespeople use specific approaches, and having the discipline to override natural instincts in favor of proven methods.
Key Insights
- The speaker claims that following natural instincts in sales leads to service clerk behavior rather than effective selling
- The author argues that service clerks typically lose deals to competitive representatives who understand proper sales techniques
- The speaker observed that sales students would only adopt parts of effective techniques that felt intuitive while ignoring the rest
- The author contends that students would merge new sales methods with their existing service-oriented mindset, diluting effectiveness
- The speaker emphasizes that mastering sales requires the discipline to work against natural instincts, similar to learning proper driving technique
Topics
Transcript
When we all learned how to drive, we probably made the same silly mistake. We would put one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. Why did we do that? Do we see other people doing that? No. It felt intuitive. Two pedals, two feet, one for each. But of course, the person who's teaching us goes, don't do that. Sales is a lot like that. Meaning that we get stuck fighting our instincts or following them, which is even more dangerous. Because in sales, if you follow your instincts, you're probably going to be more like a service clerk than a salesperson. And service clerks usually get beat by somebody who's a competitive rep or somebody…
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