Purpose in sales: the bottom layer of the iceberg

Why do you do this work? Not the answer for birthday parties, but the real answer. When I ask salespeople that question, it first goes quiet for a moment. And then almost always comes a variant of the same thing: "I want the customer to be so enthusiastic that they think: this has really helped me forward." Nobody says: I want to hit my target this month.

What purpose in sales means

That is purpose, the bottom layer of the iceberg. And however woolly the word sounds, it is the most practical layer of all. Because the law of the iceberg says: the deeper the layer, the greater the impact on your behaviour and therefore on your result. Anyone who is clear on why they do this work does not have to motivate themselves every morning. The energy comes naturally, because the work is about something.

Same conversation, different energy

You notice the difference straight away in your conversations. Without purpose, a customer conversation is a means to reach a goal, and the customer feels that. With purpose, the conversation itself is the goal: this is exactly what you do it for, really helping someone forward. Same diary item, completely different energy. And energy happens to be the very first thing a customer registers.

I say my own mission out loud at the end of every training: doing beautiful, honest, relaxed business by helping as much as possible. That makes the world more beautiful. I use it as my compass. Every choice, from which customers I take on to how I handle a difficult conversation, I hold up against it.

Write your own mission

Now you. Grab a notebook and write a short, powerful mission for yourself. What do you believe in? What do you want to bring about in the people you help? Make it personal and make it tangible, one that gives you energy when you read it. And then really use it: with every doubt, every setback, every conversation that feels nerve-racking, your mission is the answer to the question of how you want to show up.

Purpose is the deepest theme in my book Sales, Honest & Relaxed. Want to take it further personally, also beyond sales? You can, in the Year Programme. But start today with that notebook. What is your answer: why do you do this work?