This week, we introduced the topic that the sales you make “are contingent
on the attitude of the salesperson, not the prospect”. While maintaining a good, positive mental attitude is key to long-term success in sales, many salespeople fall into the attitude-killing trap of “Freudian Projection”.
Through his research, renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud often found cases where his patients would presume that the people they were interacting with, held the same, generally negative beliefs. Over the years, he came to realize that this was one of the brain’s defense mechanisms when faced with a potentially difficult situation or interaction. In fact, he uncovered numerous examples of this within his patient’s personal and professional lives. Projection can be as simple as a person who caused a car accident experiencing apprehension or fear when another car approaches them from behind, or in the typical Freudian-sense, a partner who has been unfaithful to their spouse accusing their significant other of cheating.
Salespeople are not immune to the pitfalls of projection, and in my humble opinion are people that possess the highest likelihood to suffer from projection. Whether consciously or subconsciously, salespeople project their own insecurities onto their prospects on a daily basis – usually without actually bothering to learn about their prospect’s wants, needs, or motivations.
“I don’t sell customers in this city.”
“This job is too big, or too small.”
“These customers are tire kickers, they can’t afford this.”
This projection then begins a series of missteps that ultimately lead to the salesperson creating a self-fulling prophecy rather than a sale by being either dismissive, condescending, or modifying their behavior to end the sales process prematurely – after all, why waste your time, right?
Early in my sales career, I was tasked with opening a new office for my company in Houston, Texas. It was the Summer of 2006, almost a year to the day when Hurricane Katrina had devastated the city of New Orleans, and in the aftermath, over 250,000 victims had sought refuge in Houston. I will never forget the first lead that I was given after I arrived in the city – Flooring lead, 3rd house on the right. I arrived at the home prepared to present, but when I pulled up I found a home that was so dilapidated, I immediately started questioning the appointment. The gutters were falling off the stained roof, which itself had patches of shingles missing. The lawn was overgrown with weeds, and the driveway had a basketball hoop…with no hoop. As I approached the front door, I noticed something even odder – there was no front door.
What was I getting myself into?
I shook those negative thoughts from my head, and said to myself, ‘if this isn’t a great sale, it’s great practice’. Walking up to where the door should have been, I reached inside and knocked on the drywall. “Hello? Flooring company…”. From the room, an older man and his wife appeared and welcomed me into their home.
After my opening survey, and taking the time to understand their needs, it became clear that this was a great prospect. They had told me that they had a small church in New Orleans that had been completely wiped out in the storm. They told me the harrowing story of being trapped in their home as the floodwaters rose, and how they were plucked from their roof and helicoptered to safety. In the end, they boarded a plane with other victims, unsure of the destination, and arrived a few hours later in Houston to start their lives over. Over the past few months, their family, friends, and parishioners had pooled money together (this was before GoFundMe!) to help rebuild their lives and help to remodel their home. Oh, and that missing front door? Their neighbor was a painter, and he had taken it into his garage to repaint it on his day off.
As I was packing up, and making small talk about what they should expect next, the wife told me that “they wanted to do business with an honest person, and an honest company”. They had apparently requested quotes from 3 different companies, and they waited for one company to come that never showed, and another that drove past their house, took one look at it and kept on driving. I was the only one who stopped, and I was the only one to take the time to try and help them.
It was one of the easiest sales I ever made.
Projection is an instant deal killer and highlights the importance of maintaining a positive mental attitude, regardless of the challenges that you are facing. As an in-home salesperson, remember that they invited you out to their home. A car salesperson – they drove out to your lot, got out of their car, and are voluntarily engaging with you. The same rings true for retail & online sales.
And the worst part? That deal you gave up because of projection will be sold by your competitor at a premium.