Let me drop a little mad wisdom to kick off this post.

We’re not supposed to win every sale and if that’s the attitude you take into selling, as a manager or as a sales person, you’re a shitty sales person.

Yeah, I said it, and if that statement irritates you, then I’m not sure what to tell you, other than you’re a shitty sales person and it’s time to evaluate how you sell.

Here’s the deal. If you go into every sale thinking your going to win it, you’re missing the point. The point of selling isn’t to win every deal. It’s not to have a close rate of 100%, it’s to help a person, a company or an organization improve their current environment. The goal is to bring value. It’s trite, I know, but it’s accurate. Assuming every prospect or buyer can get value from what you’re selling is a mistake. There is no way to know if you can bring value and/or how much value until you get into the sale. You don’t know what their problems are, what their goals and objectives are, why switching or change  is what they need and why switching to YOUR product or solution is the right choice. None of this is known until you get into the sale.

Selling is about being a steward of business for your buyer or prospect. A good steward recognizes that not every deal is a good deal. Not every prospect can or will benefit from what they are selling. The best understand this and don’t expect to win every deal.

The best expect to win every deal that creates substantial value for the buyer and walk away from everyone that doesn’t. The objective shouldn’t be to win every sale. It should be to find value in every sale and not every opportunity will have enough value. .

Sales is not a 100% game, don’t treat it that way.