Some sales people resist buying the company line. They resist buying the hype. They are too cool for school, pointing out that nothing is as good as it is made out to be. They question motives. These sales people are cynical and are typically smart-asses. Their cynicism is a recipe for mediocrity. And it’s contagious.
If You Don’t Believe
We humans work very hard to act in ways consistent with our public statements. If you don’t believe me, read Cialdini. To be exceptionally effective in sales, you have to believe. You have to believe that you have a greater ability than your competitors to help your ideal client.
You have to believe that your company is the better choice for your ideal client. You have to believe that what you do is good, it is important, it is remarkable, and it is special.
Cynicism undermines your ability to believe. By undermining your belief, you can go through the motions of selling, but you won’t sell much. Because you don’t believe, you won’t convince others to believe. You won’t be able to bring others to buy what you yourself won’t buy. Your results will be mediocre (at best).
You may believe you are too cool to buy-in, but by not buying in you are cheating yourself, you are cheating your company, and you are cheating their ideal clients. But, if there is nothing you can believe in, then you may want to take some time to be a little more introspective; it isn’t only your sales results that will be mediocre because you lack belief and passion.
Cynicism is a Dangerous Form of Negativity
It is usually expressed through sarcasm or funny, smart-ass comments designed to elevate the person making the comments at someone else’s expense. Cynicism is used to demean others, to demean their efforts, and to show the cynic’s superiority by not buying the hype.
When cynics talk down their own company, their management, their initiatives, and their products or services, it can destroy the ability and the willingness of others to believe. It kills their passion to be something more, to do something more, to be exceptional.
Cynicism is negativity, and negativity is the only cancer that spreads by contact.
In addition to being mediocre, cynics create a toxic environment where no one believes and where passionless mediocrity can flourish. If everyone is mediocre, then they don’t have to feel so bad about themselves.
Kill the cynicism. Buy-in. Believe. Sell it.
