One thing that resonates with almost every decision-maker...

Are you one of the millions of seasoned and aspiring salespeople beyond exhausted of some jacked up Alpha yelling into the camera telling you how great they are and the only way you can achieve success is to be like them?

Have you ever attended a sales training workshop or seminar excited to hear some new technique or revelatory secret to massive sales production, and walked away feeling as though it was basically the same old, same old?

Tired of the pseudo-psycho analysis selling systems that seem to require a master's degree to understand and actually employ in your every day experiences with actual people?

Are you dizzy from wave after wave of new technology, apps or subset upon subset of hyper-analytical data designed to give you "the edge" over competitors only to leave you constantly struggling to digest the complexity and overwhelming volume of very often superfluous information?

Yeah...a lot of us are feeling it. It's called "hype fatigue" and it is a real thing.

Cheer up though, because there is something readily available to us all that offers real hope for those of us actively selling in the real world. Moreover it blazes a path that anyone can pursue leading to improved sales and extraordinary, sustainable success, because it is based on our ability to trust intuition, lever data and unlock the one quality, an actual selling superpower, we all have inside of us.

It is the one quality, all too often is undervalued, even ignored. That is because the cacophony of "experts" pushing their system or sales programs want you to believe they have some secret you don't know about. To successfully achieve all that our individual potential promises, we need a strategy, a commitment to perpetual skill development and improvement and a guiding principle in the form of this omnipresent superpower locked away inside each of us.

• This superpower I reference attracts and creates more clients than any other "secret" or system, and it is the one thing we all have the obligation to commit to providing for our prospects. In a word...it's authenticity.

We see and hear two prevailing schools of thought in the marketplace today. One is based on a belief that teaches tactical word tracks and scenarios designed to manipulate a prospective new client into a decision that results in a sale transaction. The other is just shy of a master's degree in psychology designed to identify specific personality types and then communicate in a very particular manner. There is merit to these schools of thought, but the level of complexity and personality altering prevents most from ever experiencing a measurable lift in their production or their income.

The lack of long-term, sustainable success experienced the majority of "graduates" of these workshops and seminars is most often the result of 3 predominant factors:

1. Hype is a purely emotional motivation...in the long-term it isn't sustainable or a natural state of being for most people.
2. A lack of belief in the system and/or philosophy being taught by the instructor.
3. A lack of commitment to do the work required on the part of the student.

I believe in inspiring people to become their best version of themselves, and I never want anyone feeling compelled to be someone that they are not. It's neither natural nor sustainable.

Throughout my career working with and advising individuals as well as companies in various verticals with revenue/income ranging from <$1MM in income to more than $70B in revenues annually, I have never been comfortable pressuring or manipulating a prospective client into making a deal. It always feels smarmy and dishonest to me, because it places emphasis on me getting the deal instead of helping my clients make the best decisions possible for them or their businesses.

I've made most of the traditional mistakes we all make along the way too. I cut my teeth in sales during the times reflective of tactical advantage and manipulation to achieve results. It sucked, I hated the experience and I had to find a better way or get the hell out of the profession altogether.

So I sought the guidance and input of a host of legendary experts in the field through live workshops and seminars, books, audio programs, and later, virtually. I digested philosophies, principles and techniques from the greats like Jim Rohn, Tom Hopkins, Brian Tracy, Zig Ziglar and Mary Kay Ash. It is how and why over the last 36 years, I have been blessed with rewarding client relationships, unexpected friendships, and rest my head on a pillow comfortably every night confident that I've provided sincere, meaningful contributions and made a difference for students and clients.

• I learned early on that if I could make a positive difference the dollars would follow in exchange for providing valuable counsel, exceptional service and respect for my client's needs and desired outcomes.

The 7PILLARS strategy focuses on positive self-assessment helping guide people to utilize the personality attributes that people most appreciate in combination with a commitment to perpetual skill development. It is really simple to grasp and doesn't require you to become someone or something that you are not, nor ever really comfortable trying to be as you "fake it till you make it"...Something most people find really distasteful and ineffective anyway.

There is no shortage of sales trainers in the marketplace screaming into the camera that they can help you or your company sell more if you'll become more like them, offering a new version of the "road to the sale" or requiring you to earn a degree in psychology in order to decipher personality types and read people's minds. I know that for some, these systems and philosophies deliver results, but for most people the experience can be frustrating and leave them feeling inadequate. That resulting lack of confidence is what kills so many potential careers in professional selling before they even really get started. This leads to as much turnover in the selling profession as does anything else.

Being ourselves is a natural, organic and compelling quality in the realm of professional sales and life in general. It births a mutual connection between parties with the interest of achieving a result that both can benefit from in the long run.

The question I hear most often is what is the real difference between traditional selling versus your 7PILLARS strategy? My answer is simple, but very specific...My strategy is so effective because it provides a framework for killer branding, relationship building and sharing desired outcomes with clients that leads to them making the best possible decision for them.

• It is always client-focused. So much so, that I will routinely walk away from an opportunity where I believe that the result will not lead to the best possible results for a prospective client.

I believe so deeply in this principle that when a prospect asks us to deviate from our 7PILLARS strategy and core values in the interest of short-term results or we believe what they want will negatively impact their business, their people or their clients...we walk. Do we miss a few opportunities? Yep, do we get significantly more coming back to us...Absolutely. It's because this commitment to the value of authenticity, keeping it real and focusing on the best possible outcomes for our clients without deviation is the right thing to do for everyone involved. Period.

Sandy Cerami is a nationally-recognized Business Development Expert and Speaker. He is the creator of THE 7PILLARS OF KILLER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT™, the most relatable and successful B2B and B2B selling strategy in business today and the industry-leading SCA365 HIGH NOON™ Recruiting System designed to attract TOP TALENT quickly and easily. He speaks, teaches and writes about topics ranging from Sales, Personal Branding and Business Development to Recruiting & Retaining Top Talent, Organizational Culture and Leadership. For more information or to contact Sandy to speak at your next event or on-site with your team click here!