Selling Gratefully

Study after study shows that grateful people outperform ungrateful or cynical ones. They’re more successful. They’re happier. They persevere more.

Who do you think outperforms, or for our purposes, outsells who — happy salespeople or unhappy ones? Perseverant salespeople, or salespeople who give in at the first sign of rejection? 

In his excellent book, The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor writes that, “Few things in life are as integral to our well-being [as gratitude]. Countless studies have shown that consistently grateful people are more energetic, emotionally intelligent, forgiving and less likely to be depressed, anxious or lonely. And it’s not that people are only grateful because they are happier either; gratitude has proven to be a significant cause of positive outcomes.”

That is, choosing to be grateful directly leads to more success.

Choosing to be the opposite of grateful — which, in sales, I believe is cynicism — leads directly to less success.

First, how powerful is that?

Second, how do you come into work: gratefully or cynically?

The beautiful thing is, we get to choose. Right now, you can choose to be grateful or cynical. You can choose every morning when you get out of bed, and you can choose before each phone call and customer meeting. Which will you choose?

Since we get to decide, and since one leads directly to success, and the other erodes it, why not choose gratitude?

Choose to be grateful. Choose to sell gratefully. There is a lot to be grateful for, my friends.

You have customers whom you help in tremendous ways, and they know it. Ask them and they’ll tell you exactly what they’re thrilled about. How lucky are you?

You have customers who have been with your firm for years, sometimes decades. They know they can buy it for less money elsewhere, and yet they stay with you. How lucky are you?

You have customers who would be more than happy to buy more of your products and services if you systematically told them about those products and services. That’s like free money. How lucky are you?

Your customers would also be happy to give you referrals if you asked for them. And why not? Their referral would help a friend a lot because they’d be connected to you. How lucky are you?

What about prospects — those people who are not working with you currently but would benefit greatly from doing so? Don’t they need your great value, too? They need to be rescued from their current providers. There’s so much business out there. How lucky are you?

Listen to me on this: You save your customers time. You save them money. You bring them peace of mind. You help them sleep at night. You make them look good to their customers and their colleagues. You are available and you are on time. You do what you say you will do.

I know because I talk to your customers all the time. I’ve talked to thousands of them. I interview my clients’ customers as a part of every project, and they tell me these things.

The competition is not these things. Don’t assume the competition is wonderful. It is not. Your customers are frustrated with the competition.

How lucky are your customers, to have you? Ask them, and they’ll tell you. Believe them. They know how lucky they are.

Now I want you to know, and then behave accordingly, which means boldly. Confidently. Happily. With perseverance. With gratitude.

And don’t just believe them with your head, logically. Believe them with your heart. Internalize it. Really buy your great value. Your customers do every day — and they are grateful for it.

Now it’s your turn: Choose gratitude. It pays better.

Alex Goldfayn is the author of the brand new Wall Street Journal bestseller, Selling Boldly and has partnered with BSCAI in a three-part interactive webinar series, which will teach you the power of positive psychology and its impact to dramatically grow sales. You can learn more about the webinar series here. To hear about his revenue growth consulting and speaking work, visit www.Goldfayn.com.