Indeed!
We ARE all salespeople.
Or, if you prefer, we are ALL salespeople.
I’ve mentioned it before, but to reiterate, even if you’re not called on to sell widgets or services, you are as a leader called on to sell ideas.
In fact, let me state it emphatically:
If you aren’t selling, you aren’t leading!
We have a good reminder of this in today’s Air Force Association Daily Report (screenshot below), in which we find the commander of US Pacific Command (PACOM), Admiral Harry Harris, selling to congress the idea that his command needs more intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets.
So, your mind might be asking, “What’s your point, teach?”
My point is that I’ve known many leaders over the years — both in uniform and in the civilian sector — who’ve spoken ill of salespeople and insisted that they “could never work in sales.”
Baloney!
My point, my advice to them and you is this: Embrace the fact that if you want to lead well, you have to sell well.
Embrace the concept and allow yourself to learn how to sell.
Insert books and training seminars related to sales into your professional development regimen, and develop a salesperson’s mindset.
If you do that, you’ll be way ahead of the game.
Because we are all salespeople.
By the way, are you interested in learning more about selling your products and big ideas?
Check out S.P.I.N. Selling by Neil Rackham. This is arguably my all-time favorite book on the art of selling big items and big ideas, and I’m happy to give it my highest recommendation, just as I have to hundreds of my trainees and students over the past 20 years or so.
Or, if you’re looking for more help with selling big ideas and performing well during complex negotiations, I highly recommend the classic Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fischer, William L. Ury, and Bruce Patton. This book relates more closely to selling ideas and reaching agreements than moving products, but it’s a wonderful guide, and with over 1 million books sold (in 18 different languages!) it has proven to be an invaluable resource for many people all around the world.