Sooner or later, we all backslide into old ways of thinking about selling that lead us down the wrong path with potential clients.

A few weeks ago, I had a phone conversation with Julie, who has been struggling with the
old-style selling methods that her manager insists are the only way to sell their company's technology solution.

Regardless of what product or service you're selling, you should be able to relate to her dilemma.

Outdated sales skills fail to address the core issue of how we think about selling and unless we get to that core and change it once and for all, we'll go on struggling with the same counterproductive sales behaviors.

And we'll continue believing that we're always just one new sales technique away from the breakthrough we're looking for.

New Thinking = New Results

Maybe it's time to take a different approach. Maybe we need to analyze our thinking and identify why we're not making more sales.

Take a look at the table below and think about your current selling mindset.

How would your selling behaviors change if you changed your sales thinking?

Old Sales Mindset: Always start out with a strong sales pitch.
New Sales Mindset: Stop the sales pitch. Start a conversation.

Old Sales Mindset: Your goal is always to close the sale.
New Sales Mindset: Your goal is always to discover whether you and your prospect are a good fit.

Old Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it's usually at the end of the sales process.
New Sales Mindset: When you lose a sale, it's usually at the beginning of the sales process.

Old Sales Mindset: Rejection is a normal part of selling, so get used to it.
New Sales Mindset: Hidden sales pressure causes rejection. Eliminate sales pressure, and you'll never experience rejection.

Old Sales Mindset: Keep chasing prospects until you get a yes or no.
New Sales Mindset: Never chase prospects. Instead, get to the truth of whether there's a fit or not.

Old Sales Mindset: When prospects offer objections, challenge and/or counter them.
New Sales Mindset: When prospects offer objections, validate them and reopen the conversation.

Old Sales Mindset: If prospects challenge the value of your product or service, defend yourself and explain its value.

New Sales Mindset: Never defend yourself or what you have to offer. This only creates more sales pressure.

Let's take a closer look at these concepts so you can begin to open up your current sales thinking and become more effective in your selling efforts.

1. Stop the sales pitch. Start a conversation.

When you call someone, never start out with a mini-presentation about yourself, your company, and what you have to offer.

Instead, start with a conversational phrase that focuses on a specific problem that your product or service solves. For example, you might say, "I'm just calling to see if you are open to some different ideas related to preventing downtime across your computer network?"

Notice that you are not pitching your solution with this opening phrase. Instead, you're addressing a problem that, based on your experience in your field, you believe they might be having. (If you don't know what problems your product or service solves, do a little research by asking your current customers why they purchased your solution.)

2. Your goal is always to discover whether you and your prospect are a good fit.

If you let go of trying to close the sale or get the appointment, you'll discover that you don't have to take responsibility for moving the sales process forward.

By simply focusing your conversation on problems that you can help prospects solve, and by not jumping the gun by trying to move the sales process forward, you'll discover that prospects will give you the direction you need.

3. When you lose a sale, it's usually at the beginning of the sales process.

If you think you're losing sales due to mistakes you make at the end of the process, review how you began the relationship. Did you start with a pitch?

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About Ari: With a Masters Degree in Instructional Design and over a decade of experience creating breakthrough sales strategies for global companies such as UPS and QUALCOMM, Ari Galper discovered the missing link that people who sell have been seeking for years. His profound discovery of shifting one's mindset to a place of complete integrity, based on new words and phrases grounded in sincerity, has earned him distinction as the world's leading authority on how to build trust in the world of selling. Leading companies such as Gateway, Clear Channel Communications, Brother International and Fidelity National Mortgage have called on Ari to keep them on the leading edge of sales performance. Visit http://www.unlockthegame.com to get his free sales training lessons.