Everyone has their own selling style. Everyone is on a developmental continuum for improvement. And, everyone has a unique set of personal attributes that define them. But not everyone goes into a sales campaign with the right mindset.
You’re standing in a customer’s lobby getting ready for a first meeting relative to a new opportunity. You’ve also done your homework, in terms of sales intel – the customer’s business, corporate executive priorities… You wait patiently while thinking about the general Value Statement that could become the theme for your campaign. But even if it doesn’t, you feel confident that it will capture interest giving you the opportunity to ask the right questions to build the right theme. You’re feeling good. Not overconfident, but secure in that you’re ready for a good meeting.
Midway through the meeting you’ve connected the dots. A time sensitive corporate executive priority is being advanced by several operational initiatives. But progress has been slow largely due to collaboration issues amongst the departments driving these initiatives. Then, it strikes you. By combining a new unified communications capability with new process, the potential could exist to significantly advance the corporate priority. The only problem is that this new process would definitly be disruptive for the customer – meaning change resistance. It’s a moment of truth for you.
Absent any real proof, do you really believe that you can pull it off? Your company has not done this before, so there’s no history to fall back on. It’s up to you. Do you have the conviction to believe in your approach – in yourself? And, do you have the courage to support that conviction? Would you stake your job on it?
Conviction is making a decision to believe in the absence of proof, as evidenced by your actions.
Conviction + Courage is deciding to believe in the absence of proof, as evidenced by your actions irrevocably. Required to produce unexpected value for customers, it is a nontraditional source of competitive advantage!