Victimhood

One thing I’ve noticed training thousands of salespeople is that many sellers are good at playing the victim.

Last week, I shared a post of a procurement manager, 5 days into a new role, calling out the terrible sales emails she was receiving. Nothing unusual.

What was unusual was the reaction in the comments like this one:

There were many other similar comments. They completely missed the point.

Yes, job changes create buying opportunities. Yes, people in new roles are often looking to make an impact. But that's not the point. The insight was knowing when and how to contact leads new in their role.

Good sellers understand this instinctively. When they see this type of post, they don't get defensive. They get curious and think:

"Interesting. Maybe I shouldn't be reaching out to someone in the 1st week. I should wait 6 weeks until they're settled in and know their team better."

But most salespeople? They play the victim. They make excuses. They blame the prospect for not appreciating their sh*tty outreach.

The difference between average and exceptional isn't tactics. It's mindset. Top performers see feedback, even from angry buyers, as market research. 

They're constantly asking: "What can I learn from this?" "How can I do better?" "What's this telling me about my prospect's real problems?"

Average performers see the same feedback and hear: "They don't understand me."

Learn from your lost deals instead of blaming your buyers.

Cheers,

Michael Hanson

CEO Growth Genie