I/r

Sandler Training has many novel approaches to selling. But back in 2000 when I started my sales training business, there was one topic in particular that I wasn't expecting in a sales training curriculum. There was an entire section dedicated to insuring that salespeople's self-identity was separate and distinct from their sales role. I figured that since salespeople get rejected a lot, this chapter was there to ensure salespeople had methods to deal with rejection and not take it all too personally.

David Sandler said, sales is no place to get your needs met, but too often salespeople get their needs met by eagerly jumping through the hoops their prospect puts down, not for the chance at getting an order, but because they want their prospect to like them. Salespeople mistake their prospect liking them for success because they have "I/R confusion." What this means, in simple terms, is they mistake their self-worth or identity (I-Side) with the role (R-Side) they play, like salesperson. When someone confuses their I-Side and their R-Side they exhibit two primary behaviors