Sales Strategy Myth:
My Business is Completely Unique
Will the sales strategy you use in your business work only for you? When hearing about a success in another
business, most salespeople have found themselves thinking or saying, "That may work in other
businesses, but not mine."
Don't ever let yourself fall into this trap. This is generally nothing more than an excuse not to change. Are there
differences in a business? Sure there are, but when it comes to selling, the process is the same for most of us.
Find prospects, manage pipeline, win business, and retain clients. No matter what you are selling, this is
probably your outline.
Within this process there are many successful strategies and techniques. Don't ignore any of these by using the
excuse that your business or industry is different or that a certain strategy or technique "wouldn't work for you".
Why is this a dangerous myth? It is dangerous because we act on our beliefs. Beliefs, whether positive or
negative, will determine action. A belief that our business is unique is a license to stagnate. It gets us
into a habit of making excuses for not being as successful as we can be. Instead of looking to excel, we
start to look for reasons why we can't excel. If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have
always gotten. If you come across techniques that are working for others, adopt them. It might take some tweaking
to fit directly in your business or industry, but try it.
Don't allow yourself to believe your selling situation or your sales strategy is unique. People buy for the same general reasons:
either to get more of what they want more of, or get rid of what they want less of. All this myth accomplishes
is cutting you off from useful strategies. Instead, find ways to tweak any good strategy you come across to fit
perfectly to your business or industry. A belief that your business is completely unique only offers the benefit
of deceiving yourself in an effort to make convincing excuses when your sales strategy doesn't produce the results
you're looking for.
© 2004 Sandler Systems, Inc.
For more information on Sandler Sales Institute, click here.