How do a salesperson’s inner thoughts about money impact their sales outcomes?
I was talking with a friend and colleague about sales this weekend, and the topic of MONEY came up. He shared that he grew up with a single mom who worked two jobs to pay the bills. They didn’t have much, and they barely got by. Now, as a successful business owner, he has some leftover guilt and shame about having more than most.
Preface: This story is not about me but about how our upbringing unconsciously impacts our sales and leadership careers. We don’t often realize how deep-seated our beliefs are and how they affect our outcomes.
My upbringing was similar, and I shared my story. The first day after I finished 6th grade, my dad took me to the local convenience store/deli/liquor store at 7 am. I had been there many times, but I was a bit shocked when we walked in. My dad introduced me to Johnny, one of the two brothers-in-law who owned this store and another across town, and they really worked for the family matriarch.
Dad said, Johnny, this is Rocky, Rocky, this is Johnny. If he doesn’t do whatever you tell him to do, let me know, and I’ll whoop his ass. I politely shook Johnny’s hand and asked what was going on. My dad said you are working here every day except Sunday afternoon for the rest of the summer. I was like, OK, what do I get paid? $3.25 an hour. OK, what time do I get off? 3:30. Ok, how do I get home? My dad said walk, boy, it is not but a mile and a half.
Ma’ma’ was directly from Italy, and everything was homemade. We served about 150 at lunch with homemade chili dogs, foot longs, Italian sausage, hot links, BBQ beef, can, hog head cheese, boudin, and everything you can think of. I was the sous-chef (prep and dishwasher). Stocking shelves and scrubbing floors was my job when I wasn’t doing that. By the end of that summer, I could pick up a side of beef and carry it from the truck to hang in the cooler. I also served lunch and ran the register. Part of my pay package was all-you-can-eat. I think they lost money on a regular basis.
From then on, I worked except for football season. I always had money, but I had to buy my own clothes, boots, and whatever else I could find. We didn’t have money to throw around, either. Four sisters and I had a lot of mouths to feed. I bought my first truck before I turned 15. In Luziana, we got our driver’s license at 15. I drove the truck I bought and paid for myself to DMV to take my road test and passed.
At 16, I quit the convenience store and got a raise and more responsibility as a pump jockey at the local gas station. This was in the late 70s during the gas crisis. Within a couple of months, I was promoted to night manager, 3:30 – 11:30, with closing responsibilities. I won every contest the owner could throw down.
After junior year, I lied about my age and went to work offshore on an oil rig, making $1500 a week. I did that for the next two summers. I was rich! My dad always said they don’t make luggage racks for Hurst, and you can’t take it with you, so you might as well spend it! I’m still trying to get over that unconscious bias. I still spend it to pay for what I already bought. It’s a great motivator for me.
I learned a great work ethic and can work circles around almost anyone at anything. Before I was 28, I had over 30 different jobs. It wasn’t job hopping; it was finding out what I didn’t like to finally find something I did like.
When I started this business in 1995 and started making what some might call real money, I felt a sense of guilt and an almost unnerving feeling. It took some time to realize I had a pattern of self-sabotage limiting my success. With some great mentors and reading everything anyone told me to read, my thoughts and beliefs changed. A couple of books changed my thoughts about money, helped me overcome my money ceiling, and raised my money tolerance. “Think and Grow Rich,” “The Master Keys to Riches,” by Napoleon Hill, and “Atlas Shrugged,” by Ayn Rand. I also carried more money in my pocket, visualized money, and realized money is relative and nothing more than a tool we use in society to measure effort.
Be conscious of your unconscious. As Napoleon Hill states in ‘Think and Grow Rich,” Whatever you think about most will manifest itself into current reality! This includes money: your money, their money, and everybody’s money. Don’t let your money limitations determine the value you provide, no matter how much prospects condition us to believe the price is the most important issue to them. It’s never price, it’s always value.