Experienced salesperson, this article is not for you. You don’t need it, because you’ve learned how to maintain your confidence level. You know a few things about staying strong.
You Have Learned that Business Comes in Cycles
With your years of experience in the sales profession, you’ve seen business come and go like the tides on a beach. You know it’s normal. You understand that your business is affected to a degree by the local economy, the national economy and nowadays by even the world’s economy.
That’s why you are no longer depressed when things slow down and you don’t get too elated when business is good. You’ve learned to budget for the slow times, by saving during the good months. That helps to take the stress off your ego.
You’ve Learned that the Dealership Can’t Provide All Your New Customers
Experienced salesperson, you’ve learned that your confidence is too valuable to let it be dependent on your dealership. You’ve come to accept that your managers spend every penny they can on advertising. You know they heavily promote the dealership online to bring sales to you, and they stock the lot with as many different vehicles as they can possibly squeeze onto it.
But so does every other dealership you compete with. It’s called free enterprise, competition in the marketplace, and it’s the way America does business. So, you’ve learned to prospect better, and you’ve learned ways to get new customers on your own. You remember that when you simply walked the lot, waiting for traffic to come in by itself, it eroded your enthusiasm and confidence.
You Set Daily Activity Goals
Experienced salesperson, you march to a different drummer. You don’t have to be told to keep up your prospecting activity every day. You set your own activity goals that are separate from results goals.
That makes you feel good too. When the day is over, you feel much better knowing that you made your phone calls, asked for referrals and even knocked on some doors to hand out business cards. It makes you feel like you worked that day, and that is very satisfying.
You Feed Your Confidence
Experienced salesperson, you don’t abuse your confidence, neglect it or take it for granted, because it is your greatest asset.
You’ve amassed a great library of sales books. There is always a new book on your desk, in your car and at home so you can read every day. You set daily and monthly reading goals for yourself. Even just a few minutes of reading now and then throughout the day makes you feel connected to the greatest sales minds in the business. And seeing their ideas encourages you. There is always a new idea to try, and that gives your confidence a boost.
You Invest in Your Confidence
Experienced salesperson, you buy all the training you can afford. You know that the training the dealer supplies is minimal compared to what you want and deserve. You attend every seminar you can afford. Your favorite ones you’ve attended more than once. It has paid off in the long run for you.
You Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously
Experienced salesperson, you’ve seen it all. You remember the times you did everything right but still could not close the sale. Yet you can recall the times you did everything wrong, said all the wrong things and closed your best sale of the month. Now you take it all in stride, knowing there is no accounting for human behavior, and sometimes not even for yours.
You’ve Learned Who Your Ideal Customers Are
Experienced salesperson, during your career you’ve accumulated a large number of customers. By analyzing the characteristics of each one you’ve identified the ideal type of prospect for you to work with. And you also know the worst type of prospect for you, and a few styles in between.
Yes, you understand your own personality, and you have identified the specific characteristics of people who like buying from you. You look very hard to find more people just like them during your prospecting activities. Likewise, you know what personality types are the least likely to buy from you, and though you try your best, you are not too disappointed when they don’t become your clients. Your confidence does not suffer, either, when that happens. How different that is from when you first started in sales.
You Are Not Concerned About Anybody Else’s Sales
Experienced salesperson, you’ve learned to concentrate on your own business. You’ve found that in the long run, it’s irrelevant what any other salesperson in your dealership is doing. You are confident in your own game and are proud of it.
You Manage Your Managers
Experienced salesperson, you learned to not be overly concerned about your managers. You understand that they are held accountable to get the cars off the lot. You are comfortable with the fact that regardless of what they might think of you, they still want you to sell cars.
Along the way, through your ups and downs, you’ve learned that your managers have experienced everything you’ve gone through. It’s not new to them. Some managers you like better than others, but you know how to keep a professional relationship with all. That protects your confidence from a lot of dings.
You’ve Learned to Be Positive No Matter How You Feel
Experienced salesperson, you might frown on the gimmick ‘fake it till you make it,’ but you know how to keep a positive outlook for the future, even if the future is just surviving the rest of the day.
And you’ve learned to support your coworkers’ efforts to build their own confidence levels, and to certainly not hurt it. You know your managers have to project a positive attitude to their staff and to the GM, who has to project a positive outlook for the owner. It’s all part of the business you enjoy so much.
Yes, experienced salesperson, this article is not for you. You’ve stuck it out long enough to learn your lessons well and to maintain your own confidence. Good job.
