Discover why the most successful salespeople aren’t just heroes in their clients' stories—they're the guides who lead them to success. Are you ready to step into the role and improve sales?
When you think of a salesperson, what is the stigma that usually comes along with the role? Maybe they are a villain: they only look out for themselves and take advantage of others while doing so. But what if we changed our view of them to see them differently? If you're a salesperson, you may consider yourself in some situations the victim, but why not pivot and work to become the hero? You see, the victim and the hero share similar characteristics, however, it is up to the hero to embrace the challenge they're faced with, while the victim hides behind the wall and watches from afar. Every great hero needs a great guide - someone who is the strongest and most respected and can lead the hero to succeed. Every customer needs a guide in their story, what can you do to play that part?
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Video Transcript
In any great movie or story, you'll come across four specific characters.
The villain, the victim, the hero, and the guide. In your sales journey, you'll identify with one of these roles and maybe even find yourself shifting between them. The traditional view of salespeople is that of the villain, out for themselves and taking advantage of others. But anyone who's actually been in sales and doesn't show up as the villain has, at one point, felt a sense of powerlessness.
Because if you take the villain’s sword away, you've lost your power. You become the victim.
You want to make sure everyone knows you are not the villain, but then you end up hoping and praying someone will just show up and hand you the business. It's pretty obvious that the villain and the victim have different goals.
However, the victim and the hero's goals are aligned. In the end, they want the same thing, but the victim hides against the wall, waiting for help, while the hero embraces their challenge.
As the hero, you recognize there are specific steps to do this well so that you don't have to be the villain or a victim.
I'm in charge of my own destiny. I can steer the ship on purpose with integrity.
After a while, though, it becomes clear that steering is lonely, and you notice something is missing.
You're not achieving anything by getting high sales numbers if they aren't accompanied by great service, not just to your company but to your customers.
A hero is successful, but a guide helps others find success. In the book Hero on a Mission, Donald Miller wrote the main characteristic of a guide is that they help the hero win. But when you watch a story, the story itself is not about the guide. It's about the hero. And yet, the guide is the story's strongest, most capable character. We may root for the hero and hate the villain, but our utmost respect is reserved for the guide. Every customer needs a guide in their story. Are you prepared to play that part?
