Your Selling Is Stalled - Try Zen
What sales representatives and those in the loop for that broad continuum of what we think of as "marketing" aren’t experiencing challenges in this perfect storm of an economy. That’s obvious.
So, what to do new or do the status quo differently?
Way back in recovering times after The Great Recession - 2016 - Entrepreneur ran an article on the Zen approach to sales. The focus was on how to manage the myriad variables that can’t be “controlled” in the selling process. Currently, of course, it seems everything is beyond the control of the salesforce. That makes Zen a must-consider.
So, what is "Zen?" A simple but profound understanding is presented by Science ABC:
" ... [Zen] centers on a personal relationship with your own mind, and a higher, undefined entity outside of yourself. “
Yes, Zen is both an inside job - focusing in on one's mind - and an external reach to what is, including the existence of a force field beyond what the consensus is about "reality."
That means this: Closing the sale begins in your thought processes. Nothing revolutionary about that. Any cognitive behavioral therapist would tell any struggling salesperson that.
What is revolutionary is that more and more trying to sell goods and services as well as job searchers are caving to surrendering to the sales process as the playout of the connections among thoughts. The paradox of Zen is that by going deeply inside you liberate yourself from being locked in yourself. When in that kind of self-constructed cage you are unable to see beyond the bars to prospects and engaging. In April 2021 The New York Times saluted the Tarot for escaping the lockdown of self-absorption through self-awareness. Gently the self becomes manifest. Then the exit route can be mapped.
Let’s now hunker down and get concrete. Here are the 4 steps to the Zen of selling:
· Stop. Think about thinking. Then let go and observe the thoughts. They will tip you off to what gets in the way of identifying what prospects really want and need. Not only in terms of products and services but also the very human connection. Often it’s not enough self-love which prevents making the perfect assessment and delivering on it. Ironically self-hate triggers self-absorption. Selling is about creating a seamless almost mystical force field with prospects. The two should melt together.
· Be in the now. That’s when sales get closed. A vivid visualization of that is from “The Inner Game of Tennis” by W. Timothy Gallwey. Published way back in 1997, it ranks 986 on Amazon. That expert on peak performance derived from your mental state showcases the imperative of being there. In the context of tennis, being there means figuring how to hit the ball coming at you. Not reflecting on the one you hit or didn’t hit yesterday or might with a different opponent tomorrow. There is no ambiguity: The game is mental. The action is configured by what’s going on in your perception in that part of the minute.
· Separate what can be changed from what can’t be changed. About the latter – you might not be offering the best weight-loss product or service (at least as determined by evidence-based studies). But you can change how you have been bringing hope to prospects that they can shed the pounds and keep them off. The Sun card in the Tarot is all about that fragile entity hope and how important it is. Human beings are their belief systems.
· Never “walk away” from a sale which didn’t close without lessons learned. That’s the message of the Tarot’s Eight of Cups – the Walking Away – card. Those who don’t buy are your teachers. Revisiting them over time can enhance your learning. Keep asking questions, keep interpreting that through your Zen-installed software.
Introducing yourself to the Tarot is one path to opening yourself to the 4 steps. Yes, you can go about that DIY. Here is my free guide.
No-pressure complimentary consultation about what you want. Then, fees custom-made for your budget.
For an appointment, please contact janegenova374@gmail.com
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