<H1 BIG>TEN COMMON ENEMIES (1)</H1>

By Hank Trisler

There are ten common enemies that salespeople must constantly battle. If even one overcomes us, success becomes very difficult. If several overcome us, we’re doomed.

With few exceptions, the other nine seem to stem from the first. Defeat the first enemy and the rest surrender rather meekly, but make no mistake, the first enemy is a cunning brute. The first and most formidable enemy we must contest is:

OUR EGO

Our ego tells us that we know what’s best for the customer and if he has good sense that God gave a goose, he’ll do what we tell him. We are experts in the field and what we have to say is more important than what the customer has to say.

The biggest problem with the disease of ego, is that, like alzheimers, it affects everyone around him more than the person who is afflicted. It's tough to solve a problem you don't believe you have.

The egoist is far more eager to talk than to listen and prefers the topic of himself to all others. "I want to get to know you a little bit better, so I can tell you all about me." If you think there may be a possibility that you're talking too much about yourself, you almost certainly are.

A well-developed ego is probably what drew us to selling in the first instance, and is necessary for achievement of our goals, but unless carefully controlled, it can cause us to be a bore and flush out of selling.

When next we chat, it will be about the second in our string of enemies. Until then, please give me your thoughts on ego, its drawbacks and benefits.