You Hate Selling. And You're Right

But you're not bad at sales, just playing the wrong role.

This may surprise you, but sales was never about you, your product, or the service you or your company provides. It's about the client. The prospect. The customer.

Most sales training makes you — or your company — the hero. The one who comes in and saves the day. And that's exactly why so many people hate selling: it feels like nobody cares how great you are or how wonderful your service is. Which, honestly, they don't. If the person you're calling a prospect doesn't have a problem you can solve, they were never really a prospect to begin with.

There's nothing more powerful in marketing than storytelling — getting someone curious enough that they lean in as the story unfolds, because it's a story about them getting their problem solved. Sales works the same way. In most sales situations, you and the prospect start on opposite sides of a divide. Your product or service is what helps them cross over and fix their problem. You're not the hero of that story. You're the guide who helps the hero get there.

People Buy for Two Reasons: To Thrive or to Survive

You've probably heard the saying — people only buy for two reasons: to thrive or to survive. Understanding which one you're talking to changes everything about how the conversation should go.

Picture two people shopping for a car. The first is buying out of survival — they need reliable transportation, and nothing more. Push them toward a luxury upgrade and you'll lose the sale; you solved a problem they didn't have. The second person is buying out of thriving — they want to upgrade, make a statement, or just have a little fun. Assume that middle-aged executive wants a boring sedan, and you'll miss that sale just as fast.

Same product. Two completely different heroes, with two completely different problems. Sell to the wrong one and even a great pitch falls flat.

Here's the part that actually grows a business: you want to make more sales? Solve bigger problems. You want to solve bigger problems? Ask more questions.

Most reps talk their way out of a sale before they've asked enough to know what the sale actually is.

Once You Know the Problem, Here's How You Close It

You don't need pressure to close a sale — you need clarity. Here's a simple five-step formula for someone whose problem you can actually solve:

1. Reflect it back. "What I hear you saying is you're looking for a car that's fun to drive and makes a statement."

2. Name the frustration. "Finding the perfect car can be exhausting — especially when every salesperson pushes you toward what they want to sell."

3. Position the solution. "The X9J isn't just fun to drive — it has [specific feature], and it was just named best in class by [credible source]."

4. Show proof. "I've worked with hundreds of buyers looking for exactly this kind of car, and here's what they've found."

5. Make the next step obvious. "From here it's easy — we agree on a price, handle the paperwork, and you drive off in the car you actually wanted."

No high pressure. No talking someone into something they don't need. No awkward call the next day when they've changed their mind.

Sales Doesn't Have to Feel Like Sales

Sales may never be fun for you — and that's fine. But having a system takes the guesswork out of it. It replaces pressure with clarity, performance with listening, and hoping-they-say-yes with actually knowing what they need before you ever pitch a solution.

Ask more questions. Solve bigger problems. Let the customer be the hero of their own story — because they already are one. Your job is just to be the guide who helps them get there.

To your success.