Sometimes my research takes me into unexpected territory. Lately, I’ve been reading about how to be good at sales.
Wait, don’t hang up. Give me a minute to explain 🙂
In the scientific – knowledge worker – thought leader – world we live in, selling is NOT held in high regard. It’s uncomfortable. It feels desperate. It’s affirmatively “not me” for just about everyone I know and work with.
And yet, I’ve come to realize that selling is part of all of our jobs. Here’s why, and why it matters:
A big distinction between being an “expert” and becoming a “leader” is the ability to create understanding in others so that they are clear on your work, the implications of your work and the next steps. (In past newsletters, I used the example of Hamilton’s “I have to get my plan through Congress” to illustrate this.)
And when you communicate as a leader, you’re seeking to move the listener to take action, or to give you something – like their approval, resources, time, or – a big one for founder/CEO’s -. funding. All this in service of your work, not to mention the requests you (ought to) make for yourself as an individual – new assignments, promotion, or engaging a leadership coach. 
According to Dan Pink in “To Sell is Human,” moving other to take action IS selling.
But we associate “selling” with negative characteristics like dishonesty, being “pushy” and wasting people’s time who aren’t interested.
Instead what if we all became a little more open to the idea of selling? Could the selling mindset be something positive and aligned with our other values, like honesty and authenticity? For example:
New mindset: “I have something to offer. I have information that is important and of value to the other person. My goal is that they understand what I know, including the impact and potential/recommended next steps, so that they can make informed choices.”
Why might embracing selling be a benefit to us and to our work?
- To focus our communication on the needs of the audience and not get caught up with all the facts we know.
- To learn new skills that aren’t usually taught to professionals with our background.
- To instill the confidence to get our great ideas out in the world, unapologetically.
There’s more to say on this topic and I’m curious to gauge your interest, Can you please take a minute for a brief one question survey at this link? (and the question is below if you just want to email me your answer).
Here is the survey question if you want to email your answer.
The art of selling is relevant to my current work.
a) Yes I see that
b) I don’t get it yet but am willing to hear more
c) I don’t think it’s true or useful at this point
Any comments?
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