5 Myths About Sales

Today I want to talk about some common myths about sales and world of professional selling. There seems to be a lot of misinformation, myths and misunderstandings about professional salespeople and what we do for a living. Now, I want to emphasize professional salesperson because I think there is a huge difference between a salesperson and a professional salesperson.

5 Myths About Sales

Some of these myths may be applicable to an average salesperson, but they certainly don’t apply to a professional salesperson.

1. You’re a born salesman: Totally incorrect. Everything a professional salesperson does is a learned skill and it’s a skillset they have to keep learning, growing and honing throughout their entire career. It’s just like any other profession where you have to have continuing education and get better at what you do. There are new techniques, new strategies and new ways of communicating with prospects, buyers and customers a professional has to constantly be keeping pace with. There is always something new to learn and the professional salesperson is always learning. They understand nobody is born a salesman.

What Social Selling Is NOT!

One of the biggest buzz words/phrases to hit professional sales in years is social selling. While many believe they know what it means, I find many to be a bit confused.

What Social Selling Is NOT!

Instead of defining what social selling is, why don’t we take a moment and see what is is not:

Social selling is not autopilot: It is not designed for you to put all your sales efforts on auto and move along with your marketing efforts. Inbound marketing, social selling—all of those things still require you to interact with, understand and solve a need or want for your customer.

Social selling is not a salesperson: I had a sales manager many years ago call it b2b: belly-to-belly. While you may not meet every customer face-to-face, social selling will not replace the interaction of a professional salesperson.