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Hey, I worked in sales for years. So did my mother. I started B2B sales when I was 16. Don’t “learn” sales. A lot of reading material and courses could actuall

Hey, I worked in sales for years. So did my mother. I started B2B sales when I was 16. Don’t “learn” sales. A lot of reading material and courses could actually negatively effect you by causing you to overthink things. At best, you will come across as calculating and at worst you’ll lose deals due to getting lost in the weeds. Here’s two things: Whenever you deal with someone, try to conceptualize yourself as a consultant and not a salesperson. Great sales people are more like matchmakers, people have some kind of problem and you have some kind of solution. People are pretty sensitive to in situations where they could be persuaded. Conversations should have the feelIng like you are trying to convince a friend to watch a really cool movie rather than high pressure, ultra confident wolf of Wall Street closing. Two, if you really want to learn the actual craft of it then put yourself in more situations where you can talk to a salesperson and put them through their paces. Start taking calls from telemarketers and instead of hanging up tell them you would rather they send you an email. Go to a car dealership and tell them the car you want is too expensive. This is a decent way to get experience.

jppope 6y ago
I would argue against this comment... it is very useful to actually learn the culture and the techniques. Not that the general advice here is in poor taste, just saying that simple concepts won't help you fully understand something that is inherently complex.
- kinghtown 6y ago
  And I would disagree with your comment on similar grounds. There is undoubtedly a lot of nuance and experience in sales, technical requirements depending on the industry, but forgive me, I’m not going to outline everything in a comment. I am arguing that a book won’t cut it and may do more harm than good. Advice from great salespeople must be taken with a grain of salt. Because the core of sales, making deals, is more feeling than logic. I’ve seen people sell extremely well with zero experience as well as seasoned pros who are inherently terrible at the job. Salespeople overthink the strategy and lose sight of what really makes money: making that motherfucker say yes. If you want to do that then you need to really embrace your role properly and forget about being a shark or a shooter or whatever. You are helping someone or some organization either make more money, save money, or do their job easier than before. Everything else is bullshit strategy for guys who don’t actually believe in what they are selling. Edit: that reply could be misconstrued as aggressive but I’m set in my ways, which I know work best. If OP doesn’t want to mentor under a sales manager in a business and learn the job that way, then as a practical suggestion: Skip the self help books. Zig Ziggler and how to make friends and influence people, etc etc. Skip all that. Get a College textbook on being an Entrepreneur. Something that will help you with the nuts and bolts backend stuff.
  - ky3 6y ago
    > Salespeople overthink the strategy and lose sight of what really makes money: making that motherfucker say yes. What if he's not a motherfucker but actually a motherlover? How does that change your sales technique?
    - kinghtown 6y ago
      They are usually pretty agreeable and say yes at the end of a pitch.
      - ky3 6y ago
        The way you say it, I can't tell whether you do sales or stick-ups.
- golemiprague 6y ago
  Learning the technicalities of a domain or sell cycle is not that complicated if you already in this domain and indeed you can either learn it by reading a bit or from others in the field. But the art of selling itself is indeed more about putting yourself into it and doing it. It is a bit like the difference between someone who reads pick up lines and apply them to someone who just go out and try to pick up women. At the end of the day putting yourself out there will teach you more and will give you the confidence and natural capabilities.
andi999 6y ago
About wolf og wall street: if you look at some john belfort material online in reality (or what he chose to put online) he does what you suggest. (Of course not in phone cold call selling)
dika46 6y ago
agree. previously more than 10 years work on software engineering, and this year pointed as Sales & Marketing. B2B to be precise. I am positioning my self as a consultant rather than salesperson. building trust and develop close cooperation with potential users/clients. not a easy way for geek like me, but trying is better than do nothing.
- kinghtown 6y ago
  Keep that mindset. Hardest part of B2B is getting people on the phone and dealing with secretaries. Everything else is a cakewalk, literally, if you can come across as casually confident and helpful. I’ve had so many different approaches over the years but I find that being lovable and genuine works best (but you still have to close those deals, it’s not all roses.)

jppope 6y ago

I would argue against this comment... it is very useful to actually learn the culture and the techniques. Not that the general advice here is in poor taste, just saying that simple concepts won't help you fully understand something that is inherently complex.

kinghtown 6y ago
And I would disagree with your comment on similar grounds. There is undoubtedly a lot of nuance and experience in sales, technical requirements depending on the industry, but forgive me, I’m not going to outline everything in a comment. I am arguing that a book won’t cut it and may do more harm than good. Advice from great salespeople must be taken with a grain of salt. Because the core of sales, making deals, is more feeling than logic. I’ve seen people sell extremely well with zero experience as well as seasoned pros who are inherently terrible at the job. Salespeople overthink the strategy and lose sight of what really makes money: making that motherfucker say yes. If you want to do that then you need to really embrace your role properly and forget about being a shark or a shooter or whatever. You are helping someone or some organization either make more money, save money, or do their job easier than before. Everything else is bullshit strategy for guys who don’t actually believe in what they are selling. Edit: that reply could be misconstrued as aggressive but I’m set in my ways, which I know work best. If OP doesn’t want to mentor under a sales manager in a business and learn the job that way, then as a practical suggestion: Skip the self help books. Zig Ziggler and how to make friends and influence people, etc etc. Skip all that. Get a College textbook on being an Entrepreneur. Something that will help you with the nuts and bolts backend stuff.
- ky3 6y ago
  > Salespeople overthink the strategy and lose sight of what really makes money: making that motherfucker say yes. What if he's not a motherfucker but actually a motherlover? How does that change your sales technique?
  - kinghtown 6y ago
    They are usually pretty agreeable and say yes at the end of a pitch.
    - ky3 6y ago
      The way you say it, I can't tell whether you do sales or stick-ups.
golemiprague 6y ago
Learning the technicalities of a domain or sell cycle is not that complicated if you already in this domain and indeed you can either learn it by reading a bit or from others in the field. But the art of selling itself is indeed more about putting yourself into it and doing it. It is a bit like the difference between someone who reads pick up lines and apply them to someone who just go out and try to pick up women. At the end of the day putting yourself out there will teach you more and will give you the confidence and natural capabilities.

andi999 6y ago

About wolf og wall street: if you look at some john belfort material online in reality (or what he chose to put online) he does what you suggest. (Of course not in phone cold call selling)

dika46 6y ago

agree. previously more than 10 years work on software engineering, and this year pointed as Sales & Marketing. B2B to be precise. I am positioning my self as a consultant rather than salesperson. building trust and develop close cooperation with potential users/clients. not a easy way for geek like me, but trying is better than do nothing.

kinghtown 6y ago
Keep that mindset. Hardest part of B2B is getting people on the phone and dealing with secretaries. Everything else is a cakewalk, literally, if you can come across as casually confident and helpful. I’ve had so many different approaches over the years but I find that being lovable and genuine works best (but you still have to close those deals, it’s not all roses.)