Passion Can Give You the Edge in Sales

Passion is perhaps the best and purest tool in a salesperson’s bag. It’s better than product knowledge, great pricing, or awesome features. Passion can carry the day and produce a closed order. Really! That’s why in this month’s feature I talk about how you can use passion to get the edge in sales.

I think that salespeople sometimes underestimate the value of pure passion in a sales campaign. I’ve had an ongoing dialogue with my sales teams over the years, hearing many varied points of view. (And with salespeople, there’s no shortage of opinions.) I also suggest that energy is a first cousin of passion, and they need each other to thrive.

Passion Can Be the Deciding Factor in Tough Sales Campaigns

It seems to me – and to many clients I’ve spoken with over the years – that passion is a deciding factor in those sales campaigns where you need an edge. You can’t manufacture passion. You can’t pretend to have passion. And you can’t make it appear like the 4:50 train home. You have to feel passion and excitement (fueled by energy) about what you’re saying and selling to your prospects. I think you have to feel in your gut that what you’re asking your prospects to do is exciting and the right thing for them. That’s the essence of passion. If you believe and feel it, they will, too. And then you have an edge!

Many years ago, I was selling e-learning products when the market was immature and just beginning to gain some footing. There were many players in the space and it was becoming commoditized very quickly. I was transitioning to this market after being at Xerox for 13 years, and it was a whole new world for me. Although it took me a while to understand the many vagaries of e-learning, I knew in my gut it was a good place to be, and I was excited to be at the front of the wave. That excitement came out when I talked to clients – many of whom still believed that people learned best in a classroom. I’m sure you can imagine how challenging that sale was. The prospects caught my total enthusiasm, however, and also got charged up. After my presentation, one client from a large pharmaceutical in New Jersey said, “I didn’t know anyone could get so excited about something so boring.” The next thing he did was sign the order. And I could tell he was riding the same wave of passion that I felt.

Love What You’re Selling and Share the Passion

The lesson? Your sales will go up if you like what you’re selling and do it with passion, energy, and enthusiasm. Your prospects will even smile when they think about the sales professional who actually got them excited about becoming a client!

So, love what you are selling and be passionate about it. Share that passion and your prospects will get it as well. Then you’ll have the sales edge!

5 thoughts on “Passion Can Give You the Edge in Sales”

  1. Todd:

    I absolutely agree with you…without passion, energy and enthusiasm, you cannot garner enough trust for a buyer to give you the order.

    Stan

  2. Hey Todd,
    How have you been? Your business has come a long way and site looks great.
    I am updating my website and would love to put selective articles on my site….Are you open to that?….free plublicity for you and good info for my clients and candidates.

    Call me anytime to discuss!
    Gary
    847-550-1300 X43

  3. Cecilia Diamond Vassallo

    I agree! I love what I do, I enjoy what I do, I believe in what I sell and that is why I will always do well. PASSION!

  4. Todd,
    You are 100% correct! I’ve never sold anything I didn’t believe was a fantastic product or service that had the potential to dramatically improve the world of the customer.

    I’ve probably been lucky about that, but in that I hate to lie and avoid it vigorously, if I didn’t believe, I probably wouldn’t have sold anything anyway. 🙂

    See you soon!
    Chris

  5. Todd,

    I agree, if you love what you are selling, it doesn’t feel like a job, it is just spreading the information of something you love.

    Great Post!!

    Dwayne Wimmer

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