It’s not your boss, the company you work for, your spouse, your mother, the economy, the weather, the President, or summertime.

The biggest challenge is…you! The sooner you realize this, the sooner you can get better and start having more success in sales. And we can all get better, no matter how well we’re doing.

The man/woman in the mirror is the issue, nothing externally. I don’t mean this to be harsh. When I was first taught this lesson, I was initially pissed off. Then I realized, well, if the problem is me, then I can do something about it.

I’ve been saying for years that the most valuable real estate in the world is the six inches between our ears. This is where we live. Our world, our business, and our sales are a projection of what’s happening inside of us. The stories we tell ourselves are our experience of life. Are you paying attention to the stories in your head? Are they always true?  Are they empowering or disempowering?

What are some common, disempowering sales stories we tell ourselves?

  • Cold calling doesn’t work
  • The leads from marketing suck
  • They bought on price
  • They won’t provide me access to users and the decision makers
  • Social media is the only way to generate business nowadays
  • They won’t share the budget with me so why bother asking
  • If I ask about specific, next steps, they may get upset
  • I have to discount to win deals
  • If they like me they’ll buy from me
  • What I sell cost a lot of money
  • I have a long sales cycle

You may be telling yourself good, empowering stories, taking right action and still not getting the results you desire. It could be that your sales skills need to get better. Skills can be learned and we can all get better at selling.

Are you willing to accept that you are the biggest challenge you face? If so, what empowering stories can you start telling yourself right now? What skills do you need to learn? What action do you need to take?