I was on the weekly #livesaleslab hosted by Carole Mahoney and Rick Roberge of Unbound Growth. Have you joined yet? It’s essentially a mastermind group where salespeople can call in with scenarios that are stumping them, or they are just looking for a different perspective on how to handle, and you get coaching. Not just from Carole and Rick but from each other. If you are interested in joining us sometime, here’s more info.

Today, a Sales VP joined to listen in.

At the end, he had a question. He wanted to know why we cared so much about closing the one opportunity that each of us brought to the call. He said the answers that he got were ones he didn’t expect. His thought, was that salespeople care about individual opportunities because they have nothing else going on in their pipeline. A mindset like this means every opportunity is like life or death, figuratively speaking of course.

Don’t you think a potential customer knows when this is the case? Can’t they smell your desperation?

There’s something to be said for showing a bit of indifference. Here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter how badly I think they have the problem if they don’t. It doesn’t matter how badly I think I can help them if they don’t have a problem worth fixing.

Money and authority are great, but business pain trumps both.

So if someone doesn’t think they have a problem and/or they don’t think that I can help or want my help, then I move on.

Don’t mistake that though for not caring. I care deeply.

But here’s why.

If someone:

Has a problem that I can fix…
…and they know it…
…and they want it fixed….
…and they can tell me to fix it…
…and they want my help fixing it…

Then I have a responsibility to them, my company and myself to do everything in my power to help them do it.

Do you see the difference?

It’s not about you. You owe it to other people to care. And when you care like that, then everything else will fall into place.

And your VP might not be thinking what this VP was thinking about his team.