The Sales and Business Development newsletter that is targeted at Ambitious Business Owners who sell high value services and who want to drive Sales Growth. I share EVERYTHING you require to LEARN buyer behaviours, ATTRACT more clients and GROW your business in less than 4 minutes per week. Current subscribers gain ideas and insights to save time and implement practical tips to grow their business. Why not join them?
Nature or Nurture??
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In today’s edition, we explore why so many people think they can’t sell. Why they put barriers in their own mind and tell themselves they can’t when in reality they can if they take the action they need to. Let’s get to it. Hello Reader, I attended an event a few weeks ago and did a presentation with a group of finance professionals. People who need to build relationships and who want to grow a book of business. They wanted to know HOW to become better at Business Development, but so many of them talked themselves down as we went through the session. It got me thinking. I studied sociology for an A Level (I didn’t do that well and got a D!), but I always remember my teacher, Mrs Koravilus, talking to us about a concept that has fascinated me as I grew older. That subject was Nature or Nurture. The concept (as I remember it) was simple. Are people born the way they are, or do they become nurtured and developed to reach their full potential? The numbers were 25% to 75% either side, and depending on which side of the fence you sat on, you either thought people had 25% natural talent, and the remaining 75% was gained as they grew older or vice versa. I don’t doubt that there are some exceptions to the rule (such as Tiger Woods and Ronnie O’Sullivan, who were both born with their special talents), but my view has always been nurture rather than nature. What has this got to do with becoming successful at Sales you may ask? It’s important because a key myth that people have regarding sales is what it takes to become a successful sales person. If I had been given a pound for every time I have heard these words then well I would be a very rich man!
The list could go on and on. So many people give up before they even start because they think that to be successful at sales you have to be born with some form of natural sales talent. Whilst I don’t dispute the fact that I have been helped from an early age (as my father was in sales), it is a myth to think you won’t be good at sales just because you're not a natural at it or don’t find it easy. I am shit at DIY. I mean, really shit. I am to DIY what King Herod was to babysitting, and there is a reason for that. It’s not because I could never be any good. It’s because I have chosen not to be. If I really wanted to become an expert, then I could. How? I could study, go to college, learn the skills and then practice daily until I became good. Yes, I would make mistakes and yes, I would have to make some sacrifices in other areas, but could I become an expert at DIY or better than what I am now? Yes, 10000% Sales is the same. Thinking that you're not an expert at sales or that you don’t have natural talent assumes that all salespeople are extroverted talkers and presenters. They are not.
We all have a choice in the skills and knowledge that we learn. A research study shows that anyone can become a world expert in anything if they practice it for 7 years. Yep, that’s right, you could become a Lion Tamer if you spent the next 7 years practising to become one! Want to become a world expert in playing the Trumpet? You can. Just commit the next 7 years of your life to doing it, and I guarantee you, at the end of it, you will be able to play as Louis Armstrong did! You may need to make some sacrifices to become the best, but if it's your goal, then it can be achieved. So many people who have to sell are beaten before they start when it comes to sales. They give me a list of excuses and reasons why they don’t have the natural talent to become experts at sales, and this in turn affects everything in their life that means so much to them. They give themselves stress and problems by not winning enough business, and yet the route to solving these issues is not to think you can’t, but to start looking at how you can! Selling is a skill and talent that can be learned. If you are determined to become a success (either in your role or with the business you have), then you need to let go of these feelings that you're not a natural and it can’t be done. Sales is not this dark art that only some unique people in the world are born with the ability to do. Everyone, and I mean everyone, can become brilliant at selling if they want to. They can learn new skills, adjust behaviours, improve knowledge and become experts if it means enough to them. I guess my question to you is, ‘Do you want it enough? ’ Learning to sell effectively and learning to understand people are not just skills that can help you win new business and provide for your family. It's a skill that can help you in so many other areas of life. It allows you to have better relationships with family and friends, get deals with shops and providers and get more people to agree with your way of thinking. Yes, some people will have better skills than others, but giving up before you start is a myth. You can become brilliant at selling if you learn, apply what you learn and build a mindset which says ‘I will rather than I can’t. Make a conscious decision to spend time listening to podcasts (here is mine if that helps), watching videos (here are 700 for free), attending webinars, buying courses (here are 3 you can invest in), and most importantly, implement what you learn.
It will be hard to start with, but in time (if you continue to do it), it will become easier. Continue to tell yourself that you will master this, and soon enough, you'll reprogram the big computer in your head to believe you can and then achieve it. So stop believing in false myths and things which aren’t true. It's a myth that you can’t become a good salesperson as you weren’t born that way. You can. Have a brilliant week ahead. Stay positive, stay focused and remember you always have a choice. Eat or be Eaten. James How would you rate this edition? 🤏🏻 So-So |
James White
The Sales and Business Development newsletter that is targeted at Ambitious Business Owners who sell high value services and who want to drive Sales Growth. I share EVERYTHING you require to LEARN buyer behaviours, ATTRACT more clients and GROW your business in less than 4 minutes per week. Current subscribers gain ideas and insights to save time and implement practical tips to grow their business. Why not join them?
In today’s edition, we explore why so many people who need to sell can’t stop their immediate desire to be right in sales situations. Even when that impulsive urge can very often cause them to lose or put the deal at risk.Let’s get to it. Hello Reader, Very often in sales, you have to lose the battle to win the war. Let me share a story which explains what I mean and why this concept is so critical in selling. A few weeks ago, I met with a potential client. He is a business owner who owns a...
In today’s edition, we explore why FEAR is the greatest barrier to us achieving anything in sales and how if you don’t conquer those fears (which are often irrational), you are unlikely to achieve the goals you have. How can you overcome them though? Let’s get to it Hello Reader, A few weeks ago, I went down to South Africa to visit my team at Growth Resourcing. I always enjoy my visits there but each time I go, there is always a little bit of nerves. Let me explain why. I have a fear of...
In today’s edition, I’m taking you back to where it all started for me… selling shoes at a market stall when I was just 11 years old. Those Sundays taught me some of the most important sales lessons I still carry today. These lessons don’t need a CRM or a perfect pitch deck. They need people skills, persistence, and presence. Let’s dig in. Hello Reader, When I was 11, I started my first real sales job. Every Sunday morning, I turned up at 6am in a car park in Weston-super-Mare where the local...