Sales Manager: You Are In The Belief Business

 Cognitive Dissonance: The mental conflict that occurs when beliefs or assumptions are contradicted by new information. The unease or tension that the conflict arouses in a person is relieved by one of several defensive maneuvers: the person rejects, explains away, or avoids the new information, persuades himself that no conflict really exists, reconciles the differences, or resorts to any other defensive means of preserving stability or order in his conception of the world and of himself. 

You must care. You must ask the questions about their income goals, and where they see themselves in the future. The answers will let you know if you are dealing with someone who believes in his ability and wants to accept greater challenges, or just someone who is happy to have a job - no matter what it pays. 

You want to get the salespersons story. And as their coach, you will have to listen to it and confront the beliefs behind it. We all have a story that helps us make sense of the world. Even if it doesn't make sense to others - and even if it isn't true - we all tend to hold on to our own stories. They define and comfort us, even if they don't necessarily help us advance professionally. 

In order to learn something new, you have to admit that you didn't know something, were wrong about it, or need new information. This is not an easy thing for adults to do. 

Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one's self esteem. 

That is why young children learn so easily; they are not yet aware of their own self-importance. It's also why many older persons - especially those who are vain or self important - cannot learn at all. As you encourage the learning process in your workplace and make your salespeople responsible for their own development, you will run into resistance and refusal to change. You may wonder why. Because learning usually hurts. 

This is why it is so very crucial to discover the underlying foundation of your salespeople's beliefs systems. What do they think about themselves and their abilities? What do they want for themselves, and think they deserve? Where are they going and how can you help? 

If you are resisting the notion that truly effective sales management means working with and on your salespeople's beliefs, then you're simply feeling the pain of the assault on your own self esteem. The fact that you feel it, and resist it, will allow you to feel exactly how your salespeople do when they are attempting to process new information that challenges their beliefs or contradicts their stories.