BigShrimpin profile picture
BigShrimpin profile picture

BigShrimpin

Account executive

Catalyst
Valued Contributor
Executive
+7

What was the moment you stopped taking sales personally?

(Hopefully) everyone reaches a point in their sales career where they stop taking the outcome win or lose personally. I think this is a memorable moment for most of us and would love to hear others stories.



For me it was back in my D2D internet days about 3 months in dealing with some very jarring highs and lows. Had a homeowner come outside and threaten to fight me and call the cops on me, weird order of threats but I digress.



In the immediate moment it caught me off guard but I just laughed it off and went on to the next door. From that point forward especially now that I'm selling via zoom nothing a prospect could say bothers me and I think I've really internalized how unserious this is in the grand scheme of things.



Looking forward to hearing stories from others!

🙏 Mental Wellness
💆‍♂ Mindset
🤘 Personal Growth
14

20 comments

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poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
5
☕️
When my prospect, who I could see from my desk across the alley to their office, told me “we want you, but we have to buy your competitor because our VP is married to their VPs sister.”
oldcloser
Arsonist
2
💀
What you get for selling in alleys
poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
1
☕️
I bring a piece. You know what they say. Glocks make em talk.
oldcloser
Arsonist
1
💀
We all gotta take our shots when we can.
BigShrimpin
Catalyst
1
Account executive
if you dont marry your prospects to close the deal did you ever really want it to begin with?
Pachacuti
Politicker
5
They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy
@BigShrimpin This is a very good question and I'm surprised I haven't seen it before.

I don't think you ever completely stop taking it personally, at least if you care about what your do and what you sell.

I suppose if I was in a 100% transactional sales role it wouldn't matter as much, but I often invest month, if not years, into my efforts and its hard to not take rejection personally.
When I have cold called, I have easily pushed aside my ego because they don't know me and I don't know them. But when we have dined together, hung out at conferences, spent more time on calls then was really required.... yah I take them "going in another direction" somewhat personally.
BigShrimpin
Catalyst
2
Account executive
The best framing I ever saw for this was that a surgeon or lawyer cant be attached to the outcome of their work only the process they used to get there.

If you do everything right in a trial/surgery and you still lose the case or the patient you cant take that personally of you'll never last in that field and there's no reason sales shouldn't be the same. If you followed all the right steps and still lost out to something you couldn't control then in a situation where that thing doesn't exist you'll win.

I've internalized that right down to my core at this point win or lose I feel exactly the same and just hyperfocus on doing my part right.
Justatitle
Big Shot
3
Account Executive
bout 4 years ago, although people will buy from people they like sometimes you can't overcome some things
sketchysales
Politicker
3
Sales Manager
A couple of years into my first sales job. I grew up taking everything personally and it had such a negative drag on me all the way through my school life and very early career. It was liberating the day i realized not to give a shit about anything or anyone outside of friends and family and even then, not worry about what they think even.

You sell so much better when you are detached from the outcome.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
2
🦊
You are a true badger 🦡
detectivegibbles
Politicker
2
Sales Director
About 2 years ago...I sold a deal to a customer. The day before we were supposed to ship the system, myself and our engineering team caught a discrepancy.
I quoted him a certain specification that was not actually on the system.
Immediately called customer and explained the situation. Gave him total flexibility of cancelling the deal in total and we'd eat the costs we already put into it.

He decided to move forward and everything is hunky dory....

About 6 months (18 months after we installed system) AFTER his warranty expired, his system is having some issues.

Come to find out...he never renewed his service contract and has to pay for the labor, parts, travel, etc.

He sends the nastiest email to our president and called me a used car salesman.

Since that email, I've never cared about the outcome IF I've done everything to the best of my ability. Honesty, transparency, and always putting the customer's desires first.
oldcloser
Arsonist
2
💀
I am 100% ok with not being everyone’s cup of tea. That perspective came early. But Satan still gets souls. It’s important not to brush off a lost deal to personality by default. Always be looking inward and replaying the tape.

But, fuck- if you know you ain’t mixing the right way with the shot callers on the other line, have the decency to let a deal go to a colleague and share it.
Sunbunny31
Politicker
1
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
My moment was when one major company decided they didn't like their SE, the "quarterback" of our sales team. Refused to work with him. For whatever reason, they decided they wanted nothing to do with him, wanted him off their account. And he was a decent guy, so it was really just one of those things you cannot explain. Anyway, I became the "replacement" as far as the customer was concerned; ran the sales cycle BUT with my colleague directing the messaging, etc. It just came from me. They happily signed the deal, thinking he wasn't involved - when he was. Win for the team.
And it gave me plenty of perspective around people sometimes just not getting along, decisions made for reasons that make little sense - and that you just have to keep moving on when those inevitable curveballs happen.
jefe
Arsonist
2
🍁
A few days into my first B2B job with a ton of dialing. When cold calls started hitting home with prospects and I was saying the same thing that had others hang up on me.

I realized it ain't me!
BigShrimpin
Catalyst
1
Account executive
like my old boss used to say "some will, some wont, so what?" repeatable success is the only way to last
jefe
Arsonist
0
🍁
Thickens your skin a lot. And makes it easier to approach women at the bar lol
medhardwaredr
Opinionated
1
Director of Sales NA
I don’t recall but it happened at some point that’s for sure
GreenSide
Politicker
0
Sales manager
When a prospect compared my cold call to pointing a gun at his head.
Beans
Big Shot
0
Enterprise Account Executive
The first fuck off.
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
0
Sales Rep
When someone finally said why its a no rather than ghosting

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