I worked with this guy some years back, let's call him Ari Solomon, who, though he was quite a bit younger than me, was a considerably more experienced and more skillful salesperson. He was not an especially warm or well-rounded individual, but he could project these qualities when necessary, in the interests of advancing a sale. His natural state of being, I realized over time, was hyper-competitive, agressive, and manipulative, and though he always wound up at the top of any sales organization he was part of, he burned more than his share of bridges along the way.
Putting all this aside, he did help me out quite a bit along the way (before trying to put a company I was working for out of business, but that's another story).
I remember complaining to him about how infuriating it was to have to continually battle to overcome clients' and prospects' ignorance and misperceptions about the products and services we offered, a struggle I'm sure many of you can identify with.
His off-hand answer: "Customer perception IS reality." In other words, you have to accept that the people you're dealing with have got a view of things that they are not going to just set aside for you, no matter how ill-informed they may seem, or how clear-headed and persuasive you think you're being. You still need to try to work with them, but it's needless to get angry and frustrated about how hard it is. Breathe, stay calm, and do your job.
Very Zen, eh? And very unexpected, coming from this essentially cold, calculating individual.
I'm thinking about this now in a different context, but one where the principle still applies: Voter perception IS reality.
Putting all this aside, he did help me out quite a bit along the way (before trying to put a company I was working for out of business, but that's another story).
I remember complaining to him about how infuriating it was to have to continually battle to overcome clients' and prospects' ignorance and misperceptions about the products and services we offered, a struggle I'm sure many of you can identify with.
His off-hand answer: "Customer perception IS reality." In other words, you have to accept that the people you're dealing with have got a view of things that they are not going to just set aside for you, no matter how ill-informed they may seem, or how clear-headed and persuasive you think you're being. You still need to try to work with them, but it's needless to get angry and frustrated about how hard it is. Breathe, stay calm, and do your job.
Very Zen, eh? And very unexpected, coming from this essentially cold, calculating individual.
I'm thinking about this now in a different context, but one where the principle still applies: Voter perception IS reality.
