We recently held a webinar on “How to Make Closing Sales Prospects Easy,” and one of the topics we discussed was some common misperceptions about salespeople and closing. As a first step to getting better at closing, I think it is good to dismiss some of these common myths, and that is what we discuss in this short video.

You are either born a salesperson, or you are not
Many people hold the belief that people are born to be salespeople. They are born with some set of characteristics and skills that will make them good salespeople. Those who are not born with these qualities will struggle to sell.

I personally disagree with this. I believe some people are born with leadership qualities and just naturally fall into situations where people follow them and this can be an asset in some types of sales where building strong relationships is important in more relationship sales situations.

But in most sales situations where you have a product or service to sell, I believe that selling is a skill and that someone can learn and develop these skills through work and effort.

You have to have a certain personality to close
Related to the previous myth is one that people believe you need to have a certain personality to close sales that you have to be outgoing or gregarious to close sales. And that if you aren’t born with this type of personality, you either have to try to alter who you are or you will not be successful.

I also disagree with this myth, as I don’t think that you have to have some particular personality type to close. I explain why in the full webinar recording.

You have to be pushy to close
Digging deeper into the last myth is the belief that you have to be charming, pushy, persuasive, or aggressive to close sales.

I disagree that someone needs to have these personality traits or some other type of personality to be a good closer. I explain my case for that in the full webinar, but the logic is based on the fact that if you do most of the right things before you reach the point where it is time to close, you should not have to be charming, pushy, persuasive, or aggressive to close.

Closing is the hardest step of the sales process
Many salespeople believe the hardest step of the sales process is the close. I believe that if you do the right things before you close, closing is actually the easiest step, and sometimes deals close themselves.

Closing sales is difficult when you do not do the right things in the sales process. I explain all of this in the webinar “How to Make Closing Sales Prospects Easy.”

Also, Read Selling to Executives is Like Trying to Talk to a Pretty Girl