Don't Dare Dabble
Steven Kneiser
2-minute read
Keeping one foot out the door?
Why are you afraid to commit?
…
So there I was,
ready to learn Everything Business™
but no trustworthy mentors in sight
“Where do the best salespeople hang out?”
That’s right
I was up to no good
I had seen every Shark Tank™
I was ready to learn all the tricks
How hard could it be?
🦗 *crickets* 🦗
Nothing.
Nope.
Nada.
We always hear about the successful sales professionals in every industry. They’re everywhere, so why is it so friggin’ hard to find them?
I thought there’d be a quick answer,
but it kept getting worse:
- Isn’t there a cluster of successful salespeople behind every single company still standing?
- Are “the good ones” simply too busy making money to attend meetups?
- Is it because “only those who can’t do, teach”?
For some reason, the only events I could find had the worst mixture of “mentors” & people ready to sell me stuff (okay, I should’ve seen that coming …from the amateurs). Where the heck do I engage with these millions of sales professionals?
It came up during a long car-ride
& my dad’s words will never escape me:
“Salespeople are
where their customers are”
Turns out,
great salespeople don’t look like this:
Great salespeople walk, talk, & act
…like you!
People buy from people they trust
& people trust people who are like them
Who do people buy from?
…people who are like them
They just get you
They’re like an old friend
They’re speakin’ the same language
Reality is never that simple, but I’m swapping one glossy expectation for another. This is a rabbit hole for another day.
Why should I care about sales?
You’re selling your premium services
The job search is an enterprise sale
You’re not marketing $5 to 50,000 people
You’re selling $50,000 to 5 companies
So what do we do?
No more “networking”
No more “best impressions”
Your goal isn’t to be everyone’s person
Your goal is to find your people
What feels like play to you
but feels like work to others?
When you get off work for the day,
- what do you listen to?
- what topics do you read about?
- who do you find yourself around?
“Salespeople are
where their customers are”
Don’t Dare Dabble
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