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OPINION
Scaring the sell out of you
O nce upon a time (that’s always a good start to a story, right?), the very thought of sales sent shivers down my spine. You’d be hard-pressed to find any person trained as an architect or engineer who dreams of selling. Sales is not the monster under the bed – it’s just a conversation, a shared meal, and a chance to offer solutions and forge lasting connections.
But there I was. Fresh into a new position. A sales position. I braced for a crash course in the art of persuasion, expecting to morph into a smooth-talking seller. But that’s not what happened. Instead, I learned something unexpected: sales wasn’t about selling at all; it was about solving. The discovery was as liberating as it was surprising. Meetings and client calls turned from battlegrounds of negotiation into bridges of genuine connection. This shift in perspective turned sales from a fear into an enjoyable, even energizing experience. Here’s the truth: Sales is just an extension of what we already do best – solving problems and building relationships. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Cool story, Tyler – but how can I shift my own perspective?” You’re right. This isn’t about me. This is about how to scare the sell right out of you.
WHAT’S SO SCARY ABOUT SALES? Sales, for many seller-doers in AEC firms, is the boogeyman. It’s seen as pushy, demanding a knack for smooth talk that engineers and architects think they lack. But much of this fear stems from misconceptions: ■ Sales is manipulative. The stereotype that sales involves tricking clients into agreements. ■ Sales is a talent. The myth that only people with a “sales personality” can succeed. ■ Sales steals from technical work. The belief that time spent selling is time not designing or engineering. These fears are exacerbated by a lack of sales training in our education and an industry culture that seems hell-bent on the idea that sales is antithetical to the “purity” of technical work. (Technical work that you wouldn’t be able to do without a sales motion.)
Tyler Suomala
See TYLER SUOMALA, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER JUNE 3, 2024, ISSUE 1540
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