1. Build Character
Transcript: Hi, it’s Ben Lai from Sales Ethos, today’s topic is “Build character.” It is far more important for you to build a solid character than it is for you to have all of the sales skills in the world. Knowledge and skills are important and they’re essential to what we do but it is your character that will determine whether or not you are successful. What is the evidence of this? Below is our comprehensive guide on how to build an unshakeable character in sales.
Why Character Matters in Sales
I think the strongest evidence for this comes to how people are persuaded. Now, persuasion is made up of three essential things. It’s made up of our credibility, which is the ethos, the emotional impact, which is the pathos, and then there’s the logical component which is the logos. These are the Greek words that were thought of by Socrates back in the day when he was thinking about persuasion. This is in the order of importance. Persuasion is at the top, is the credibility of a person. Credibility is determined by our character. Who we are.
Case Study: Greta Thunberg
I’m not sure if you’ve been keeping an eye on the viral videos, the last couple of weeks, but there’s a very admirable young lady by the name of Greta from Sweden, who gave an impassioned speech at the UN Conference about global warming. Now, the interesting thing about this video was that she had the pathos down pat. She was very passionate about saying that we need to do something. This is a climate emergency and so on and so forth. But the trouble with her speech was two things. One was that she didn’t provide any logical explanations as to why there is an emergency. I mean, she didn’t provide any stats or figures, but more importantly, she lacked the credibility to substantiate anything that she was saying.
Even if she had all of the stats and so forth, it’s very hard for other adults to believe what she’s saying, because she’s a high school student. She’s never done scientific research. She’s just essentially going off what other people have told her. From that perspective, whatever your opinion about climate change is, it was very hard for myself and for many others to believe what she was saying, based on the fact that she lacked the credibility and she lacked the logic. From that perspective, our character in sales is of utmost importance.
How to Build Character in Sales: Do What Is Right, Even When No One Is Watching
But how do we go about building character, and therefore, our credibility? My main suggestion here is to build a character of integrity. Now, CS Lewis once wrote that integrity means doing what is right, even when no one is looking. I’ll repeat that. Integrity is doing what is right, even when no one is looking. What a beautiful way to express this concept. If, for example, you notice a loophole in the sales commission structure, you found a way to cheat the system and get more commission, withholding from doing that is going to help to build your character.
It’s going to help to build your integrity. Then you can go one step further and highlight this issue to management so that they can fix the loophole. Now that is integrity and that is building character. How much more is your manager going to trust you, if you put this into practice. In the other video, we were talking about telling the truth. Telling the truth is a very important part of building integrity.
When you tell the truth to a person that yes we can’t do this exactly to what you need, then the trust level is going to skyrocket. There are so many ways that we can build and work on our integrity and therefore our character, and in doing so we will build our credibility. I’ll finish off with this. If you are a sales manager or an entrepreneur and you’re looking for ways to boost your sales, feel free to contact me on the details below. If you like this video, don’t forget to like and subscribe and remember that integrity plus skills equals success.
2. How to Build an Unshakable Character in Sales
Transcript: Hi, it’s Ben Lai from Sales Ethos. Today we’re going to talk about how to build an unshakeable character. The way that you see yourself will have a profound effect on your sales interactions. If you have a really strong self-image that is genuine and authentic, your credibility is just going to skyrocket. People will be much more willing to trust you and to buy from you as a result. But how do you go about building this? Today I’m going to share with you three ideas that will help you to build your self-image and your character in an authentic way so that you can be at your absolute best.
Build an Unshakeable Character with Integrity
The first thing I’d like to suggest no surprise is integrity. But what does integrity mean? Integrity to me is three things. First, you need to tell the truth. Next, be consistent with your promises and keep your promises. Finally, be your authentic self. All of these things have to be done whether people recognize it or not. If you are being a person of integrity in your private life, it’s going to show when you meet with people. You’re going to come across as a person who is very trustworthy. So practice these little things, even if it’s just picking up rubbish off the ground when no one would notice. Or, stack the dishes when no one would notice. These are the little things that can help to build your own self-esteem and your own self-respect, and therefore your character.
Build an Unshakeable Character with Generosity
The second thing I’d like you to do is to practice generosity. What I mean by this is to have a generous attitude. So when you’re meeting with sales prospects, be willing to buy them the coffee or to buy them lunch. When someone has done something nice for you, let’s just say they give you a referral, buy them a voucher. Or, or take them out for a meal.
Even more important than this, though, is giving to charity. No matter what your income level, if you can give, say, 10% of your net profit or your income to charitable causes, it’s going to make you feel like a rich person. I mean, only rich people donate to charities, right? If you make this a habit, it’s going to strengthen your self-image. You’re going to come across as a generous and very likeable person, and people will be more likely to do business with you.
Build an Unshakeable Character with Gratitude
The third tip for you is to make a habit of gratitude. It’s very simple, but very profound, and very powerful. What I want you to do is to just take a few minutes each day to write down the things that you are grateful for, and try to come up with new ones every single day. Once you start getting into the habit of looking for all the good in your life, you’ll start to realize what a blessed country that we live in. All of the things that we enjoy and take for granted; you will start noticing these things. As you continue practicing gratitude on a regular basis, your character will be strengthened. You’ll also become a more pleasant person to be around. Now, who wouldn’t want to buy from someone who’s constantly grateful and never complains about anything?
If you want to make things really simple one, what you can do is to tie the practice of gratitude to something that you do every day. So for example, my family will take a few moments before we eat our meals – breakfast, lunch and dinner, to thank God for something that we are grateful for. So it’s a simple way to build our character on a regular basis.
Conclusion: Build an Unshakeable Character!
So there you have it. Those are the three things. What sort of things do you do to build your own character? I’d love to hear your comments below. Don’t forget to hit like and subscribe. Finally, remember that integrity plus skills equals success!
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