Do you need to love what you sell?
Do you need to love what you sell? The short answer: Yes.*
Let's dive in.
Today we’re focusing on the top three implications not loving what you sell has on your psyche and what you can do about it:
Cognitive Dissonance is the discomfort caused by holding conflicting beliefs or values. If you don't believe in what you're selling, it can create internal conflict and stress. If the customer knew what you knew, would they buy?
Erosion of Self-Concept: We often derive our sense of self from our actions and beliefs. Selling something you can’t fully endorse can make you question your own integrity and values.
Stunted Performance and Burnout: If you don’t care about what you sell, you're at a higher risk of losing motivation and engagement, which can negatively impact your performance & lead to burnout.
“OK Emerson, I don’t love everything about what I sell. Should I quit right now?”
Let’s slow down for a second and consider doing the following first:
Reframe Your Perspective: Try to find aspects of the product or service that you can appreciate or value.
Focus on Your Impact: Instead of focusing on what you don’t like, focus on the positive impact the product or service has on customers.
Find meaning: How does your work contribute to a larger goal or purpose that matters to you?
Set Boundaries: Limit your involvement in aspects of the sales process that you find most objectionable.
Get another person’s perspective: Ideally, get the POV of someone in sales but not directly on your team. Friends/family/therapists might not be the best equipped to help here.
Here’s the asterisk*: I’m not saying you need to be an obnoxiously loud evangelist of your offering to have a fulfilling career. I’m not saying you need to publicly profess your love for your product on LinkedIn (If it’s genuine, great! But note that over-eagerness might be off-putting to customers). What I absolutely am saying is that you need to love the outcomes your offering has on your customer’s business.
Take a moment to honestly assess the following: Can you get behind the outcomes of what you sell?
If you're unsure, talk to a peer or your manager to get their perspective. If your answer is “no” and you’ve chatted with a peer/manager, you need to identify what sales outcomes you can get behind and start applying to jobs. If your answer is “yes,” congrats! You're in the right place.
According to multiple sources, up to 90% of sales professionals experience burnout (source). Sales is hard, don’t let it weigh you down. The one thing you truly have control over is your perspective. But you can also choose to sell something that won’t grind you into the ground. Own your career.