Preface: Simon Frewer‘s and my relationship goes back several lifetimes. I first met Simon when he ran the sales and delivery organizations for CEB around the Challenger Methodology. We had fascinating discussions on the pro/cons of Challenger. Since those early days, Simon and I have become great friends, sharing ideas and viewpoints.
I found myself chuckling as I read Simon’s thoughts. I suspect everyone else contributing to this series had some of the same feelings about responding to my request. But in his humor, Simon makes an important point. “Selling” is part of everything we do, whether it’s asking our families permission to escape for a round of golf, getting teammates to support something we want to do, or getting a PO from a customer. If we don’t get great joy in this process, we miss so much of our lives and engagement with those around us.
I do have one question about Simon’s story? Who won the round of golf, you or your son 😉
Why I’m so interested in selling—Simon Frewer
When Dave asked me that question, my thinking went in so many different directions. I think the stream of consciousness progression went something like this…
First- why did he choose the word interested, versus say love?
Second- yuck sales…I don’t like sales… well I don’t like being sold to. Note- I had just gotten off an awful sales call where a perfectly nice human being had just wasted 15 minutes of my life trying to sell me and my company something we were a terrible fit for. I wish I’d had the time to pull off a Boiler Room coaching session, as she seemed like she was genuinely trying to help me. (Sidenote: I like buying… but I don’t like being sold to. I know I’m not alone.)
Third- I don’t have time to quickly respond to Dave as I’ve got to finish off this Board presentation that I needed to deliver the following day. I had made a tough decision that I needed their blessing on. It was going to be a tough one.
Fourth- It was Thursday and wait I don’t think one of my portfolio company teams had sent me over their weekly sales pipeline and kpis! I needed to get on that right away as the rest of the company needed that to plan their actions.
Fifth- finally I recall thinking hmm, talking about sales-I totally forgot to check in with my wife to ensure she was cool with me getting 18 holes in this weekend. Note… it was going to be a tough sell given the family calendar so I’d likely need to also convince my 12 year old to join me to make this work, knowing full well that he’d really prefer a solid session of playing Fortnite vs. hanging with his old man on the links!
You likely can tell where I’m going with this… sales is all around us. Nothing would happen if someone wasn’t selling someone on something. And herein lies my interest, nay fascination (and love!) of sales. I’m fascinated by the research and the science, the prevalence of sales in nearly every aspect of our lives (depending on your definition I guess), what makes some people natural “sellers” and others terrified, and that arguably none of the greatest outcomes in the history of mankind would have ever happened without an effective sale (and I guess some of the worst outcomes too). Great leaders need to be great sellers. One can’t lead unless one can sell! Heck one can’t be a high impact human if one can’t sell?! Ok before I get too carried away, I’ll ask how is it possible not to be interested in sales?! (To Sell is Human- thanks Dan Pink)
Reflecting on this question also reminded me of one of the greatest pieces of advice I have ever received in my career (from the great David Bradley) which was- “Whether you love or hate it, you’ll never regret taking a sales role early in your career, as it will stand you in great stead for the rest of your life. It will very well be the most valuable education you’ll ever receive.” That stuck with me, as he was right. You learn a lot about yourself, about influence, about communication, about the importance of goals, about empathy, about helping others, and about how to have greater impact in your life.
Somehow this became a post to sell sales… but I guess you’re welcome if you weren’t already interested in sales and it resonated!
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