sales & marketing | by barrett prelogar

Mental Machinations from the Disheveled Mind of a Salesman

Some of us probably knew from birth. Some stumble into it but never quite realize how or why. Regardless, here we now are - the salespeople, the idea guys - loathed by many, cherished by a few, tolerated by the masses, but universally indispensable to the business of doing business! When folks assert that the best salespeople are born, not schooled, it's really just their acknowledgment that some of us have worked hard to hone a skill set largely present since birth.

I was beginning to figure it out for myself back in college when I was wrestling my way through an engineering degree and hating most of my classes. I was desperately bored and felt dissociated from my classmates - most of whom seemed hopelessly devoid of personality. My gradual realization emerged that somehow, for some reason, I was just wired up a bit differently.

Still, it wasn't until early in my career as an entrepreneur that I was finally able to put the proverbial two plus two together. You see, my business partners, also engineers, are linear thinkers. They surround themselves with the logical structure of if/then statements. They revel in the success of watching a project, their own relationships, or all the world play out in a virtually scripted fashion. They believe all things happen for logical reasons.

Their methodology for coping with the world, however, is quite different from mine and from most successful salespeople I know. We're more comfortable bouncing around a little, looking retrospectively at the results or, possibly, the debris, of people and ideas colliding together, and then making the most of what's left scattered about. Of course it's necessary to know ourselves, to believe in our product or service, and to like our customers; but beyond that is our ability to be fully present in each moment-listening, reacting, and responding as events unfold.

We parlay the results of this trial-and-error movement into a unique view of our environment, one derived from the experimental and provocative nature of our seemingly random behaviors. We convert the energy of adrenal rushes into a force in our favor. We quickly bag our collective experiences. Later, we deploy that knowledge to maneuver deftly around obstacles and objections at the kind of breakneck speed which would surely derail the linear thinkers, forcing them to succumb to careful contemplation. Any salesman can tell you that the rush of riding the edge is what brings him back to work again and again. The exact outcome of each endeavor always remains unknown and, thus, always offers the opportunity to learn something new and to convert present energy into future success.

So it was that general realization - that, basically, salespeople are simply wired up differently-which finally empowered me to harness my creative initiatives and enthusiasm to provoke others into action at my direction. And, in a sentence, isn't that really what selling is all about?

Now the interesting part is that more and more often I find myself thinking in a more linear fashion! Perhaps it's just that I've danced to the same tune so many times that I'm beginning to anticipate the "then" that almost inevitably follows each and every "if." Indeed, it seems I've discovered that a systematic application of the approach I successfully developed while free wheeling yields the most rewarding result of all: a consistent and predictable flow of profitable sales!

Maybe with a little help from my engineering buddies, we'd be able to publish an honest formula for sales success. Until then, I'm thankful that the world has made a place for those of us who are just a couple of ticks off!

Barrett Prelogar is President and C.E.O. of WinnTech: The Dream Store Factory. His manufacturing company develops strategic merchandising solutions which help other companies present their wares in the most compelling fashion imaginable. He welcomes your comment or criticism at 816.333.6536, ext. 107.