No One Buy’s From This Type of Sales Person | Selling Made Simple

Nobody wants to buy from a people pleaser. it’s a business killer. Now, we all want to make other people happy. We’re social animals. And caring about the opinions of others is hardwired into our brain. It’s in our DNA. But when you make the happiness of others your primary goal, it can lead to some pretty disastrous consequences. And that goes double, triple, and quadruple for sales reps like you. So, how do you stop being a people pleaser? 5 Problems 5 problems with people pleasing. Why is being a people pleaser such a bad thing in sales anyway? Well first off, it leads to… 1) Wasted Time with Bad Clients Wasted time with bad clients. People pleasers hate confrontation. And that can make it difficult, if not impossible, to cut bad clients loose early on. The result? Tons of wasted time. Tons of wasted effort. And a buyer that sucks all the value out of you possible and then leaves you high and dry. 2) Great Relationships Are Built on Equal Value Great relationships are built on equal value. People pleasers are notorious for being taken advantage of. And that sets the foundation for a wholly unequal relationship. When equal value isn’t brought to the table because of what’s known as covert contracts (more on that in a sec), a buyer won’t think twice about ditching on a deal at the last minute. 3) Finding the WRONG Solution Finding the wrong solution. People pleasers are bad communicators. And as sales reps, it’s our job to connect the right buyers with the right solutions. But since a people pleaser’s so avoidant to conflict, they may end up misleading the wrong buyer to believe the solution can fix their problem rather than risk disappointing them. And that, as you can imagine, can lead to some very serious problems. 4) Inauthenticity Breeds Contempt Inauthenticity breeds contempt. Nobody likes a suck-up. And more importantly in sales, nobody trusts a suck-up. When you can tell someone isn’t acting authentically, the promises they make, the guarantees, the assurances—they don’t mean a thing. And that’s enough to leave buyers heading for the hills. 5) Your Boundaries Will Suffer Your boundaries will suffer. Perhaps the biggest problem with being a people pleaser is that others won’t respect your boundaries. You’ll tell them you need to be out of the office by 5. Yet, they’ll still ask you to stay late to help them finish up their work. And being the people pleaser you are, you’ll agree. The problem here is your own needs will suffer. And that means you’ll be way more likely to burn out sooner. So, how do you stop being a people pleaser? The How to Stop People Pleasing Framework. The How to Stop People Pleasing Framework. This framework has just three simple rules. Yep, three. That’s it. And the first one is perhaps the most important. A) Prioritize Needs If you don’t make your needs a priority, someone else will inevitably come along and take advantage of you. That’s just a fact. And it’s just how we’re wired. That’s why the number one rule of the framework is to take stock of your needs and start prioritizing them. After all, if you’re not in a good place, you won’t be able to help others as effectively. It’s like in those airline safety videos—“Always put on your own mask before helping others during an emergency.” But to do that, it helps to understand one of the most nefarious aspects of being a people pleaser—covert contracts. Covert Contracts Covert contracts are unconscious, unspoken agreements that people pleasers use to interact with everyone around them. A people pleaser’s covert contract might look like this: “I will do X for you, so that you will do Y for me. But I’m not going to tell you what the contract consists of. Instead, I’m going to hope that you understand what I want and I’ll get mad if you don’t deliver on it.