The Toughest Sale.

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"I fed my ego, but not my soul." ~ Yakov Smirnof.

What's the toughest sale you've ever made? Here's a tip - you haven't made it yet. Yep, we all have stories to tell - tough guys we had to come up against and cajole, convince or sometimes even con that we, and the product we were pitching, were the answer to all their problems. But you know what? They were easy compared to the toughest sale you will ever have to make. I've pitched and worked for a few ogres over the years - from Bum Bright to an old school car man who made you shake in your boots when you even thought about doing less than you could. Every one was easy compared to the most difficult sale we ever have to close. ~ The Toughest Sale.

The most difficult sale that you will ever have to make is to yourself.

Every one of us is driven by our ego, our perceptions and the constant chatter we have going on inside our own mind. What's it saying? Many times it's affirming, supporting and repeating what we think we already know in order to maintain some semblance of sanity. To protect our status quo we surround ourselves with support systems when dissonance and discomfort can teach us so much more.

There is an old saying in sales that says if you really think you're good - Cold Call the Bronx and see how well you do. You are going to come up against a merciless onslaught just for even trying to pitch. You had better be tough and good. It's kind of like that in learning - the most caustic exteriors often conceal the most valuable insights. We don't learn very much from easy. What's the most caustic exterior we will ever encounter? Our own steadfast resistance to get out of our own way. We will argue for it, convince ourselves that we know best and re-interpret every lesson to fit within our personal frame. Why?

Because the toughest sale we ever have to make is to our own ego.

Very few of us sell that guy - He's just too tough.