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7 Ways to Cut Loose from Old Sales Thinking

Featured Author:

Ari Galper

Ari Galper is the creator of Unlock The Game™, a new sales mindset that overturns the notion of selling as we know it today.

With a Masters Degree in Instructional Design and over a decade of experience creating breakthrough sales strategies for global companies such as UPS and QUALCOMM, Ari discovered the missing link that people who sell have been seeking for years.

His profound discovery of shifting one’s mindset to a place of complete integrity, based on new words and phrases grounded in sincerity, has earned him distinction as the world’s leading authority on how to build trust in the world of selling.

More articles from this author:

• When Prospects Give You the 'Silent Treatment'
• Confident at Cold Calling? A Reality Check on Positive Thinking
• How to Cold Call without a Pitch

Sooner or later, we all backslide into old ways of thinking about selling that lead us down the wrong path with potential clients.

A few weeks ago, I had a phone conversation with Julie, who has been struggling with the old-style selling methods that her manager insists are the only way to sell their company’s technology solution.

Regardless of what product or service you’re selling, you should be able to relate to her dilemma.

Outdated sales skills fail to address the core issue of how we think about selling and unless we get to that core and change it once and for all, we’ll go on struggling with the same counterproductive sales behaviors.

And we’ll continue believing that we’re always just one new sales technique away from the breakthrough we’re looking for.

New Thinking = New Results

Maybe it’s time to take a different approach. Maybe we need to analyze our thinking and identify why we’re not making more sales.

Take a look at the table below and think about your current selling mindset.

How would your selling behaviors change if you changed your sales thinking?

Old Sales Mindset

& New Sales Mindset

• Always start out with a strong sales pitch.
• Stop the sales pitch. Start a conversation.

• Your goal is always to close the sale.
• Your goal is always to discover whether you and your prospect are a good fit.

• When you lose a sale, it’s usually at the end of the sales process.
• When you lose a sale, it’s usually at the beginning of the sales process.

• Rejection is a normal part of selling, so get used to it.
• Hidden sales pressure causes rejection. Eliminate sales pressure, and you’ll never experience rejection.

• Keep chasing prospects until you get a yes or no.
• Never chase prospects. Instead, get to the truth of whether there’s a fit or not.

• When prospects offer objections, challenge and/or counter them.
• When prospects offer objections, validate them and reopen the conversation.

• If prospects challenge the value of your product or service, defend yourself and explain its value.
• Never defend yourself or what you have to offer. This only creates more sales pressure.

Let’s take a closer look at these concepts so you can begin to open up your current sales thinking and become more effective in your selling efforts.

STEP 1