™The Salesperson You Think You Are vs The Salesperson Who Shows Up Under Pressure
Most salespeople can describe their strengths, weaknesses and selling style. The harder question is whether those beliefs match what happens when ambiguity, rejection or pressure enters the situation.
Ask a salesperson:
“Are you good at handling rejection?”
Most experienced reps can give you an answer.
Ask:
“Are you adaptable?”
They'll probably have an answer for that too.
“Confident?”
“Customer-centric?”
“Good listener?”
“Resilient?”
We've spent decades asking people to describe themselves.
There is only one complication.
The person we believe ourselves to be and the person who appears inside a difficult situation aren't always identical.
That became increasingly interesting during our volunteer conversations.
People could describe how they believed they sold.
Then they'd tell us about an actual deal.
An actual rejection.
An actual prospecting situation.
An actual moment of uncertainty.
And suddenly there was more texture.
Not necessarily contradiction.
Context.
Self-awareness isn't the same as self-description
Suppose I ask:
“Do you take rejection personally?”
You know what the desirable answer probably sounds like.
“No. Sales is a numbers game.”
Perfectly reasonable.
Now change the question.
You've spent three months working an opportunity.
Your champion suddenly stops responding.
Your manager asks for an update.
You're below target.
Another prospect just rejected you.
What do you do next?
Now we're getting somewhere.
Because behaviour lives inside situations.
Pressure changes the environment
A salesperson may genuinely believe they're patient.
Until quarter-end arrives.
They may genuinely believe they're consultative.
Until pipeline falls behind.
They may genuinely believe they're comfortable challenging buyers.
Until they're speaking to the CEO of their largest opportunity.
Neither answer makes them dishonest.
Humans aren't static.
Our responses change depending on stakes, ambiguity, confidence, previous experiences and perceived consequences.
Which means development can't always begin with:
“Here are your strengths and weaknesses.”
Sometimes it should begin with:
“In what situations does your usual approach change?”
This is one reason labels worry us
Put someone into a category and it's tempting to believe you've explained them.
High confidence.
Low resilience.
Hunter.
Farmer.
Introvert.
Extrovert.
Analytical.
Relationship seller.
Useful shorthand sometimes.
Dangerous when the shorthand becomes the explanation.
Because the same salesperson may behave very differently:
When they're ahead of target.
When they're behind.
With a friendly champion.
With an aggressive procurement team.
After three wins.
After five rejections.
Human behaviour is contextual.
Sales development should make room for that.
Real situations create better coaching conversations
Instead of asking:
“Are you confident?”
Ask:
“When does your confidence change?”
Instead of:
“Are you persistent?”
Ask:
“What makes you decide whether to continue or walk away?”
Instead of:
“Are you adaptable?”
Ask:
“Tell me about the last time evidence forced you to change your approach.”
The language becomes less flattering.
But the insight becomes far more useful.
The IncaZing observation
One of the hypotheses we're exploring through AmbiZing is simple:
Self-perception and behaviour under pressure may not always tell the same story.
We're not interested in deciding which one is the “real” person.
Both matter.
How someone sees themselves affects behaviour.
How they respond to situations reveals context that self-description can miss.
The interesting part is the space between the two.
Because development may begin there.
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