Are You Afraid to Change?

Here’s something to ask yourself.

Are you afraid to change?

Consider this quote from WH Auden’s long poem The Age of Anxiety:

“We would rather be ruined than changed. We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment and see our illusions die.”

Auden accurately captured the state of B2B sales as it is practiced today.

Too many sellers would rather keep selling the way they do, knowing full well that it doesn’t work as it could or should, than leave their comfort zones and confront the truth of its fundamental failure.

Would you rather fail than change? Do you have the courage to change?

Because the only future you need to dread is the one that looks like today.

Which is the problem. Technology notwithstanding, B2B selling today looks an awful lot like it did 20, 30 and 40 years ago. Sellers repeat the same bad sales behaviors from decades ago. Sellers make the same mistakes with buyers. Buyers still don’t believe sellers have value to add. Sellers fail at the same high rates.

Auden hit it right on the mark. We’re too timid. And fearful of change.

It seems that sellers would rather limit their futures than give up the illusion that they’re on the right track today.

Which is ironic because isn’t that the argument that sellers make to their buyers everyday about the dangers of sticking with the status quo?

Changing how you sell starts with you.

Start by asserting control over your personal selling process.

Take the time to analyze what you do that makes a difference in the moments that matter.

Focus on what you can learn to grow as a person; to improve your ability to connect and build trust with your buyers.

Experiment with how you behave in front of buyers. Do really understand the things that you do or say that actually influence the choices of your buyers?

In truth, if you’re paying attention to the details of how you work, no one should know better than you what you can do to improve.

Waiting for your sales boss to tell you what to do should be the last thing you do.

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