Menu
Assign a 'primary' menu
Sometimes I wish that my inner voice was louder
The other day I wrote a blog post, “The Strangest Secret to Business Success” in which I’d commented positively on the points that that three successful businessmen had all made about looking out for the other person’s concerns first. Yesterday I read an email from a friend who advised me that I should be careful about one of the speakers I’d named. He offered no details, but his comment was enough because in all honesty I had had a bad feeling about this man’s presentation. His hard driving approach came off to Dorothy and me as hard sell, i.e. more concerned about his sales than our needs and wants. I wish I’d listened to my feelings before I included him in the article.
This is a case of allowing the opinion of others to drown out my inner voice. I could have used my wife’s reaction to his hard driving presentation to bolster my own response. Instead I was impressed by 1) his examples and points, which I still feel were correct, and 2) his testimonials by famous people, like Mark Victor Hansen and Brian Tracy. I wrote off my concerns with his presentation style to feelings of inadequacy, such as “I just must not be ready to play at that level,” instead of to “this isn’t the type of game I want to play.”
I’ve had other times in my life when I had a negative feeling about someone but allowed other people’s opinions to sway me into ignoring mine. In at least one of those times, the result was a series of negative events. Those events definitely provided life lessons.
My point here is that only you can determine what’s right for you at each moment in time. I will do my best to mention people I respect and feel have something of value to share. But sometimes I have to mine the gold from the rock and dross of attitudes and techniques I won’t apply to my own life and style.
Because I am so focused on heart-centered, soft sell sales and marketing, I wish I’d listened to my feelings about this speaker. I’m grateful to my friend who reminded me of this. Today’s post is not an attack on anyone. This speaker earned endorsements from many people I respect. It’s an observation, though, to trust your own inner feelings about how someone does business. Rather than an issue of honesty, for me it’s a matter of hard sell versus soft sell. Choose what’s right for you.
How to Ask a Closing Question
Gratitude Sets the Right Attitude
Heart Centered Selling’s not for Wimps
Have You Heard the MLM Lies?
Sales Motivation – Remember, There’s more to Life than Money
Trusting a Salesperson Is Tough; Liking Is Easy
If No One Cares, It’s Not a Unique Selling Proposition
If Sales Calls to You Are Win-Lose Battles, Read No Further
