For the past 20 years, I've been incredibly blessed to have been surrounded by some of the smartest and most successful marketers of all time.
And I'm not referring to being in paid masterminds, or people that I've bought products from to gain proximity. I'm talking about personal friends who I could pick up the phone and call out of the blue for advice or just to say hello.
Of course, many of these connections might have never materialized if it wasn't for the fact that I was Frank Kern's surfing buddy for many years while I lived in San Diego. Just about everyone admired Frank, so, I was often able to attract a lot of coattail lovin' by simply being around.
It wasn't always easy. I had to earn my place, respect, and friendships, but it's hard to imagine I would have been exposed to so many successful people if I didn't have that close relationship.
Anyhow, over the years, time and time again, there is one single trait that EVERY successful entrepreneur I met always had in spades. It never failed. Ever. If someone was a successful business person, they had this trait and ability. And, every time I'd see anyone struggle with starting a business, it was woefully obvious they lacked this trait and ability.
It didn't matter what niche they were in. It didn't matter what experience they had. And it didn't even matter if they were a good or evil person.
Almost every time, this particular trait nearly guaranteed that a person would be successful no matter the project. And almost every time, failure would be almost certain if a person lacked this particular trait.
Whether we realize it or not, all of us harbor a self-image about ourselves. There's a conscious self-image that we are aware of, and there's also a deeper layer. A subconscious self-image that controls many of the choices that we make in our day-to-day lives.
Often, this subconscious image differs from the one we walk around presenting to ourselves and others. How we see ourselves through this self-image will dictate how we act and react to people and things in the world around us.
Not only do we hold this self-image of ourselves, but we tend to hold onto all sorts of subtle judgments and opinions about all kinds of things in life. Many of which are very negative in nature. For instance, consider salespeople. It's a pretty common occurrence for people to dislike or distrust salespeople.
In Daniel Pink's book "To Sell Is Human," he reports that 9 out of 10 people have a negative perception of salespeople. If 9 out of 10 people have a negative perception of salespeople, how likely do you think it is that they will feel good about being a salesperson themselves?
Yeah, not very likely.
So here's the thing that most of the successful marketers I've met over my career have in common... Almost all of them embrace the role of being a salesperson, and they actually enjoy doing so. They don't punish themselves with a negative self-image or detrimental talk about selling; instead, they actually look forward to it.
Sadly, many of them only look forward to it because they are in it for themselves and can't wait to cash as many commission checks as possible, no matter who they harm or swindle in the process.
And whether you or I like it or not, many of these people will continue to grift and be very successful as they prey on the desperate and willing. Yeah, it sucks, but it's been going on forever, and it isn't going to stop any time soon. As they say... "There's a sucker born every minute." And this is part of the reason why 9 out of 10 people have a negative perception of salespeople.
This can become a HUGE roadblock for honest people who actually want to sell without being slimy or shady. So, here's where it gets interesting...
If you're the type of person who has an entrepreneurial spirit but you don't like the idea of being a salesperson, this can be a wonderfully positive thing. It means that you likely have a moral compass and that you actually care about people. You are the exact kind of person that most people would love to do business with.
However, no matter how well-intentioned you are, the subconscious image you have of yourself and others is that salespeople are bad, slimy, or dishonest, and you want nothing to do with that.
So what happens is that when it comes time to sell, you don't fully commit. You sell from your heels, as my writing mentor John Carlton often says.
Nobody wants to buy from a half-ass salesperson. They want to purchase from someone who's enthusiastic, committed, and, most importantly, honest about a product or service.
The reason most people aren't enthusiastic about the sales process is because they are often trying to push products or services that they themselves don't believe are a wonderful value for the buyer.
If you truly believed that what you were selling was going to tremendously benefit the buyer, you'd run to the top of a mountain and scream with a megaphone. Instead, most people passively try to sell in a soft and non-pushy manner, and it almost never works because no one believes you.
If you've got something that is going to change my life, by all means, please push me off the ledge of indecision and do it NOW!
Anyhow, this is all easier said than done because of that pesky self-image we've created for ourselves. It isn't something that can be easily changed at the drop of a dime. It's hard-wired into our subconscious mind, and it takes real effort to rewire new synaptic connections and create a new story and belief.
The good news is that I've created a powerful hypnosis track that does just that, and I'd like to give it to you free of charge if you're interested.
Also, I'd like to introduce you to something I call "The Vendomer Scale" which is a tactic and a philosophy on how to treat potential customers in a way that will make them rush to buy from you.
When you use the Vendomer Scale, you'll no longer be perceived as a slimy salesperson but rather someone who has a deep desire to help.
And when you learn to sell in this fashion, you'll feel great about it and want to do it more often. People will begin to thank you for not being like the other 90% of salespeople who are just going for the sale or the close and leave bad tastes in their mouths.
I just recorded both of these trainings and you can grab them here...
