Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

It's Only Common Sense: Sales is Hard Work

Editor's Note: To listen to Dan's weekly column, as you've always done in the past, click here. For the written transcript, keep reading...Am I wrong or is it more difficult to find good salespeople these days? Is it just me or are salespeople more interested in being relationship managers than they are in selling? Is it my imagination or are there fewer salespeople willing to pick up the phone and call someone they don’t know and ask them for some business?

What has happened to the art of selling? What has happened to the thrill of the chase or the adventure of the hunt? Where has that old sales pioneer spirit gone?

It seems that when I talk to salespeople these days, all they want to tell me what they don’t or won’t do. From the very outset of the conversation this is what I am told:

• “I don’t do missionary work; it costs too much and it just doesn’t work anymore.”
• “Cold calling is dead. It just doesn’t work.”
• “I am too old for cold calling--that’s for people just starting out.”
• “People just don’t accept phone calls anymore; it’s just not done.”
• “The buyers nowadays are not interested in picking up the phone; there's no use calling them.”

Do these comments sound familiar? Is this what you’re hearing from your salespeople? If it is, you’d better be looking for new salespeople, because those who don't want to sell are by the very definition not salespeople. A truly great salesperson loves the idea of getting in touch with people and convincing them to buy his products.

A great salesperson loves the challenge of finding a way to get that sale. She loves breaking down barriers, getting to the right person, and convincing that person to buy what she's selling.

A great salesperson always finds a way. A great salesperson is always looking for that edge--whether it be a connection, or a reference, or an introduction--he will use whatever resource he can find to further his way down the sales path.

A great salesperson is always on the lookout for the right data base, seminar, course, or book to show her how to be better. A poor salesperson will always find fault in whatever improvement tool you give him. The great salesperson will take whatever you give them to work with and will make it work.

Poor salespeople will look for any information that will justify their lack of sales success--they will cling to any bad news like it’s a life raft letting them float quietly over that sea of self-promoted failure.

The poor salesperson loves to talk about the bad economy, embraces the idea that all of the good business has gone offshore, or that companies just aren’t taking on new sources at this time. Poor salespeople will bring up anything that will let them off the hook for not making their numbers.

Great salespeople will make hay while poor salespeople have given up. While poor salespeople are complaining and saying that it’s not worth calling potential customers, the great salesperson will be out there working like crazy and taking advantage of the fact that his competitors have given up.

A great salesperson loves to hear others gripe about whatever they are griping about so they won’t have to get out there and try. They love the idea that their competitors have given up--that they are not even trying to get in touch with new customers--because that leaves the field wide open for them. They know that the more poor salespeople say it's useless to try to sell anything to anyone the more opportunity they have to make their numbers.

And, finally, I love the idea that great salespeople are so innovative, so creative, that they will find ingenious ways to get that sale. They will study the situation until they find a way. You can’t teach that--it has to be part of the person’s makeup and passion.

That’s why I keep advising companies to hire for passion when it comes to salespeople. You can always teach them about your product or service, but what you can’t do is teach them passion--that’s just something you’re born with.

Think about that for a minute: Think about the great salespeople you've known in your career. They're all the same, aren’t they? They're energetic, cheerful people, full of love for what they do. They are the ones who, as we used to say, could sell iceboxes to Eskimos and love every minute of it. Those are the people you want to hire. Those are the people who will make your company successful in the long run. It’s only common sense.