Passion in Sales Will See You Through

Passion gives wings to your work, your sales, and your life

Selling is one of the toughest jobs I know, especially for heart-centered, soft sell salespeople and marketers. Selling can also be one of the one most exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling jobs I know, especially for heart-centered, soft sell salespeople and marketers. For me, it depended on what I was selling and how much I believed in the value my products and services delivered to my customers. When I was excited about the benefits of my products and services, I could be passionate and really enthusiastic about sharing with my potential buyers. But for me to have passion in my sales, I had to believe what I sold would improve their lives. And passion was important to seeing me through the rejections and the dull and unpleasant activities required in sales.

Among the most rewarding sales calls were those when I took the time to find out what the clients felt their problems were and what they were looking for before I started selling. When I knew what they wanted, it was easy to share, explain and demonstrate how my solutions would help them achieve their dreams or solve their problems. In other words, I would feel passionate about what I was doing.

I can think of few things more energy draining, and spirit-killing than going to work at a job I hate. I speak from experience. While I loved the Air Force and stayed in for 9.5 years, not counting my time as a cadet, I put myself into a dead end career field as an electronic warfare officer. For six years, I tried to find a way out and into management and command. I finally left the Air Force on January 1, 1979. My first sales job was in radio advertising in Riverside, California. While I lost the security of my military salary and benefits, I loved helping customers buy.

Questions to Help Find Passion for Your Sales and Marketing

So how do you find passion for what you do? Ask yourself the following questions:
• What is it you love about your products and services personally?
• What do you love about your company?
• What do you love about the people you work with, especially those who will support your customers?
• Get to know your company’s best customers. What do they love about your products and services?
• What problems have your products and services solved or dreams fulfilled?

When I had clear in my mind the value my customers would see, I found myself excited about going to work. The passion I developed for what I was doing enabled me to take rejections and keep going. I knew that what I offered wasn’t right for everybody so I simply had to find those for whom it was right.

Sales can be fun, fulfilling, and mutually rewarding

Sales became fun as I got to know my potential buyers and their needs. When they recognized my interest in them first, before the sale, we made a connection. We then worked together to create the right solutions or to fulfill their dreams. When you help customers buy, you can experience a sense of fulfillment that goes way beyond just the commission earned or profit made.

All salespeople have tasks they don’t enjoy. All jobs do. However, if you find what you do satisfying, rewarding, fulfilling, you will passionate about what you’re doing. When you see the real benefits which your prospects will gain from your products or services, it will fire you with a passion that will keep you going through the tough times and grunt work.

For more about love in sales, check my March 2nd post about “Love in Sales – It’s not that kind of love.” In that article, I talked about caring for your prospects’ needs before you attempt to help them buy.