The Zen of sales calls (aka: stop feeling anxious)

Stop trying to convince buyers and start looking for pull

The anxiety founders feel about sales calls comes from a theory problem rather than a confidence problem. Most carry an implicit theory that a purchase happens because the seller convinced the buyer, so every no-sale becomes a personal failure. Rob Snyder argues the truer theory is that people buy when they are stuck, trying to do something the available options block them from doing. Once the seller's job is to find out whether the pull exists, the pressure to have the perfect script falls away.

Takeaways

• Sales confidence is a theory problem. People keep asking Rob Snyder how to build confidence in sales, including the most confident-seeming person he has ever met. The problem is a theory problem, and the fix is installing the right theory so the right behaviour becomes intuitive.
• The convincing theory makes failed sales your fault. The implicit theory in founders' heads is that a purchase happens because the seller convinced the buyer, so a failed sale is your fault. The weight of needing the perfect script, the perfect tactics, a better product or more added value never lifts.
• People buy only when they are stuck. Buyers are trying to do something and are blocked by the options available to them, so they buy whatever gets them unstuck. The seller's job is to find out whether the person is stuck. If they are not, nothing you say will convince them.
• Stress is a signal to check your theory. Rob Snyder has zero stress in sales calls, whether scheduled or already over. Butterflies before a make-or-break call with a large inbound customer are understandable. Consistent stress means your mind is holding you back, and stress only convinces the buyer not to buy.
• Look and listen without wanting. The co-host reads from the essay that the Zen of sales is to look and listen without wanting. That stance stops outreach feeling salesy and gives the prospect room to explain their pull without gripping the outcome.
• Care about the trajectory, not the call. Rob Snyder does not care about the outcome of any single call or whether the person becomes a customer. If they have pull they will buy as long as you do not convince them otherwise. If they do not, you learn about your targeting and messaging.

Symptoms of the convincing theory

• Delaying sales outreach and finding reasons not to put calls on the calendar.
• Believing they perform badly, and reading each call as a verdict on their ability.
• Taking rejection personally when a prospect is not engaged.
• Feeling a pit in the stomach before a scheduled call, as if showtime were about to begin.